No One Would Listen
by El.Ave.Fenix
Summary: No one believed he was real, he was fictional, merely the product of an imaginative mind...and yet there he was standing before them in all of his dark glory, he was real...he was there in the Opera house, the ghost, the monster, the man, the Phantom.
1. Fake

**Ghost**

**First phanfic...I must admit, the movie finale made so mad...I wanted to chop Christine's head off...but in a way she was right to choose Raoul over our beloved Phantom...but I digress...here it is and enjoy :D**

"Are you insane?" Lucy told her friend as they stood outside of the gates of the infamous Opera Populaire. The light breeze danced through their hair as both of them stared at each other for a second or two as they turned to look at the third member of their group.

"Jack give me a boost," Monica told her friend as Jack stood towering behind her; he was after all the muscle of the group. He crouched down as she got on his back and used it to help her up as he stood up slowly, her feet on his shoulders. She pulled herself up and jumped on the other side. The moment her feet set foot on the grounds of the old opera house a thrill ran up her spine as she turned to look at the huge building brushing a stray strand of hair from her face.

She turned to look as Lucy jumped over as well and landed gracefully, Jack following her lead as the three stood before the building, the breeze picking up as they shivered and walked over to the front doors before anyone caught them trespassing on the old building.

They walked in to the old building not surprised to find the front door open, their footsteps echoing through the main room that held a huge staircase leading up to the upper levels. The opera house had truly taken a turn for the worse since the last time anyone set foot in it. It was falling apart, dust everywhere, paint peeling off of the walls, spider webs on everything.

"Why are we here again?" Jack asked, his deep voice echoing through the place as the two girls turned to look at him with in alarm.

"Shhh," Lucy told him holding up her finger to her lips, "what if the rumors are true…if _he _is here," she told him as Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes at what the two women feared.

"There is no such thing as the Phantom of the Opera," he growled to both of them as Monica rolled her eyes, she didn't really have a side but she rather doubted the Opera Ghost ever existed.

"Split up and meet back here…keep your hand at the level of your eyes," Lucy told them raising her fist to her eyes to prove a point as Jack snorted in amusement and turned around, his combat boots echoing through the empty halls as he kicked aside a stray chair as it clambered loudly disrupting the dust which had accumulated over the years.

Lucy looked after his retreating for in worry, what if the rumors where in fact true…what if there was a Phantom of the Opera? She too leaving Anna behind as she headed towards the dressing rooms curious to find out what was left of the famous Opera Popularie.

Monica turned noticing she had been left alone by both of her friends as she turned and headed towards the main stage, she had some time to kill after all.

Jack had been walking for a while now through the countless halls, his steps echoing louder and louder as he dragged his feet wishing to be out of the theatre already, why he had agreed to even come was beyond his comprehension. He knew he couldn't let the other two come alone, who would be there for them if they got into a mess?

He turned a corner sharply ramming his shoulder on the wall on accident as he hissed in pain the sound traveling through the walls and empty spaces. He continued to walk unaware of where he was headed, a sign on a door however made him stop in his tracks and realize he had been walking through the countless rooms where the singers and actors used to reside.

'Christine Daee,' it read as he ran his hand across the sign his breath catching in his throat, the woman was real after all, that made the theory of there being a Phantom more believable as Jack turned the knob on the door and stepped inside, his blood running cold once he stepped inside and looked at a huge mirror up against a wall. It was however different from any other mirrors he had ever seen, part of it had been pushed aside to reveal a long dark corridor of stone just beyond the opening.

He recalled the movie he had been forced to see just before he came here, and he certainly remembered where the corridor let to, he crouched to examine the footsteps closer, they were recent and they were a man's. He got up and walked quickly out of the room following the footsteps hoping to end a mystery to the famous Opera Ghost who should have been nothing but dust now.

His steps echoing through the halls and down onto the lower levels as Lucy glanced up at the celling wondering what Jack was doing, if the man was any louder they could attract unwanted attention.

She had successfully found her way to the dressing rooms, an endless sea of dresses, masks, and other trinkets thrown about as if a raging mob had come through, mannequins thrown everywhere. She got an eerie feeling walking amongst all of the masks; it almost looked like they were following her. She turned to look at a dress that caught her attention as she pulled it out of the racks and held it out to get a better look at it.

It was a beautiful shade of crimson red, but before she could truly get more of the details a haunting voice seemed to echo through the walls and her mind, a man's voice. It sent shivers up her spine as she turned sharply and decided to run back to check on the other two dropping the dress in the process as she ran out of the room and headed back towards the theatre.

Monica on the other hand had already made her way into the stage, she pulled herself up onto it and looked out at the audience, the chairs however where disrupted by a chandelier that lay upon them, she couldn't recall how it had gotten there, but she had a feeling it was important.

She shrugged humming to herself as she walked around the stage and noticed an opening on the floor, she poked her head over it and froze once she heard what was coming up from it, her eyes dilating in pure disbelief at the angelic voice that flooded through her thoughts and body as she closed her eyes and listened.

"No one would listen

No one but her

Heard as the outcast hears.

Shamed into solitude

Shunned by the multitude

I learned to listen

In my dark, my heart heard music.

I longed to teach the world

Rise up and reach the world

No one would listen

I alone could hear the music

Then at last, a voice in the gloom

Seemed to cry "I hear you;

I hear your fears,

Your torment and your tears."

She saw my loneliness

Shared in my emptiness

No one would listen

No one but her

Heard as the outcast hears

No one would listen

No one but her

Heard as the outcast hears..."

She hummed along to the breathtaking tune before it halted abruptly making her frown and look down the hole once more before she realized her mistake, there was a Phantom after all, and she had just fallen into his trap. She quickly brought her fist up to the level of her eyes and cursed Lucy for dragging her into this as she turned around quickly and rammed into something solid.

Strange, she didn't remember a wall being there on the stage with her, she fell and landed on her back as she opened her eyes, her vision blurry as she saw a dark figure standing over her.

"What the hell…" she growled as she tried to get up but opted otherwise once her vision cleared and she saw the figure better. A horrifying half white mask molded perfectly to the face placed on the Phantom as he tilted his head and looked down at her.

His dark black hair brushed back as his haunting steel blue eyes looked down at her, his face expressionless; in turn she looked up at him, chocolate eyes wide in fear and surprise as she diverted her gaze elsewhere.

"JACK! LUCY!" Monica yelled wishing this was all a dream, hoping to get away from the thing that was standing over her, the monster…the man.

How was this all possible, the Phantom had become a legend over the years, centuries even…and yet, how was he still alive? Was he a vampire? Or just simply….immortal.

She quickly crawled away and ran as she jumped off of the stage as a shuffle of clothes came from behind her, the Opera Ghost close behind having no intentions of letting her go, she had seen him after all, and surely she would go out and tell the world he was real, that he lived.

She didn't get far, this was his home, his domain, he knew every corner of the Opera house and a mere girl would not win while playing his game. His gloved hand shot out and grabbed her arm as he pulled her back and slammed her up against the wall, a startled look on her eyes as her back connected with the unforgiving wall her head spun from the force he had used to throw her.

"Why so silent mademoiselle?" his voice echoed through her thoughts, his accent intoxicating her as she struggled to stay conscious, her head spinning. She gave up after a second or so, her head falling on his chest as he caught her and flung her over his shoulder taking her to her friends.

He would take care of them just as he had done with all of the other fools who had dared to enter his Opera house, those who had dared to question whether he was real or not.

After all he had tried to let the first few live, however, he quickly learned that had proven a mistake. He grunted as he shifted her body slightly making sure she didn't slip form his grasp as he headed towards the upper levels of the Opera house where he had put her two friends who had been foolish enough to go looking for him.

They had gone looking for trouble and found it in a man who had been shunned by the world, in a mere character of books used to entertain others, in a ghost from the past…in a Phantom.

**Review...or else I will have the Phantom come after you and kill you with is charming smile and devilish good looks ;D**


	2. Sacrifice

**Sacrifice**

**A/N: Im glad you guys like it! Thank you for the marvelous reviews! Now on a sidenote, a sidenote really to some of you ;D**

**Celtic Authoress of America: I looked it up and read the first chapter...my sincere apologies, I in no way shape or form meant it to be somewhat like yours! I noticed we shared some similarities but not all, I didnt add them walking in with a CD player with the POTO soundtrack (although it would have been badass lol) nor did he break her arm or other countless differances, but if you are reading this...you can see I did not steal your ideas, nor will I ever try to. My apologies once more ^_^' and since you posted yours first, I must give you credit for the ideas which we shared so no one thinks I ripped you off ;D and for like the millionth time...I am so sorry! **

***On a sidenote...I switched the name Anna to Monica by various demands from my friends...the bastards waited for me to post teh first chapter and then had the nerve to demand changes...so dont be confused my dear readers Anna=Monica now...dont worry...I shall send the Phantom after my friends to make em pay :D  
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The Phantom ascended the stairs slowly thinking on just killing the girl he had in his arms there to save himself the trouble of having to carry her further. He knew he couldn't though; it would just be another mess to clean up.

He finally let a relived sigh escape his lips once he reached the door to the roof as he opened it slowly and exited as he was greeted by glares from her other two friends whom he had gaged and tied up.

He walked over to the slowly and lowered the third member of their group as Jack's eyes widened with anger as they shot up to glare at the Phantom even more as he tried to speak through the gag to no avail.

"Who told you to come here? Did someone dare you? Did they not believe I was real?" The phantom asked as he walked out of their sight as Lucy started to shake; it made her nervous to have the Opera Ghost out of her sight where she couldn't see what he was doing.

The snow around them made them shiver as Jack tried to get free of the tight rope which bound his arms and legs, it however proved useless and only ended up digging into their skin as a cold breeze picked up and danced around them.

"Poor fools, what will they think when they find you..." the Phantom told them as Jack glanced at Lucy who was having a hard time holding back her tears, she didn't want to die, not like this.

"It was an accident…just like the rest, you simply slipped off of the roof…such a tragedy," he added as Jack tired once more to untie the bindings but stopped once he noticed Monica shift slightly, she was starting to wake.

He hopped the Phantom wasn't looking at them as Monica opened her eyes but closed them quickly pretending to be unconscious still once Jack threw her a warning gaze. They heard some footsteps behind them as the Phantom finally appeared once more before them.

He was dressed all in black, his cape dancing in the cold wind as he crouched down and picked up Lucy as she tried to scream through the gag. He started to walk towards the edge of the roof still holding her about to let her fall.

He hadn't expected to be tackled sideways; he released his grip on the girl as Lucy fell back and landed on her back in pain. The Opera Ghost quickly turned to look at the body on top of him, how could he have been so careless? He had forgotten to tie the other girl up, and as a result she was currently on top of him buying her friends some time.

Jack finally managed to get loose from the tight bindings thanks to Monica's help as he picked himself up and scurried over to help Lucy, Monica still struggling with the Phantom trying to gain advantage as he flipped their roles in an instant, he pinned her down as his hand wrapped around her neck hoping to end her life quickly.

Monica however, wasn't about to let this be her end. She in turn rose her hand as well wrapping it around his neck as she applied pressure and dug her nails into his skin drawing blood.

"Get out of here!" Jack told Lucy as she nodded in fear and headed towards the door rushing by the pair as she headed downstairs. Jack quickly moving towards them as Monica shook her head struggling to breathe; she could tell the Phantom was having a hard time as well his grip lessening in the slightest bit.

Jack knew if he got any closer he would probably snap her neck due to the look the Phantom had thrown him, he had to risk it, he wasn't about to let her die in front of him.

"Godamn masked freak let her go!" Jack yelled as he tackled the Phantom tearing his hand away from Monica's neck as she sat up and coughed before she was pulled to her feet by Jack as he urged her towards the door hurriedly.

She stumbled through the doorway as Jack followed slamming the door and bolting it with some spare wood he found lying around.

The Phantom stood up shocked, these three were different from any other intruders he had dealt with before, they had managed to escape him once, but their luck would run out soon. He walked over calmly to the side door he had while he rubbed his neck in agitation, no one had ever dared lay a hand on him.

He glanced down at his blood stained glove and ran it once more over his neck confirming his thoughts; she had actually made _him_ bleed. He hadn't bled in years.

"Past the point of no return," he sang quietly stepping though the hidden door and descending to the lower levels quicker than they would have ever though. This had to end now.

"He's real Jack! He fucking exists!" Monica cried holding on to him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders leading her through the hallways in desperation hoping to beat the Opera Ghost in his own game. If he found them it was game over.

Jack only hopped Lucy had made it out already and had something planned for their escape.

They reached the lower levels about to run out through the main doors when a familiar sound of a cape resounded through the halls behind them, Monica turning to look at Jack desperately and then at the open door just behind him offering freedom.

"One of us has to come out smiling love," she whispered to him as she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him catching him of guard, they had always s had feelings for each other, neither of them wanted to admit it.

She made him back up as tears streamed down her face, she knew what had to be done, and yet it broke her heart to do it.

"I'm sorry," she cried as she pushed him out of the door and slammed it shut behind him pressing herself up against the wooden doors once he tried to get in once more.

She knew the Phantom couldn't follow after both of them, he had to keep his attention on something, and she was the bait.

"Jack lets go already!" Lucy called from the other side of the fence as she neared a car, she had called one of her friends who was thankfully in the area, they had come to pick them up.

Jack however wanted to stay and get Monica back; there was no way in hell he would leave her to the Phantom.

"Jack get your ass in the car its freezing…and hurry up the Phantom might actually be real!" one of their friends called from within the car as Jack found it in himself to turn away from the theater and run towards the car, he would be back to get her, even if it cost him his life.

"You think your clever, don't you?" the Phantom's voice asked mockingly as she stood up and looked around like a cornered animal, this was never in her plans, not even in her wildest dreams would she have ever thought of the Opera Ghost being real.

He was messing with her mind again, his mocking laugh echoing through the theater, it sounded musical, and yet it had a tinge of blackness to it.

"You can't get us all at once!" she yelled back at him fighting back the tears that were begging to be released, she kept looking around, she was out of her element and he was in his.

She walked slowly away from the door turning at every sound she heard and every shadow she saw move as she found herself once more on the stage, she kept looking for the Phantom, he seemed to have disappeared.

Her mind found it ironic, she had truly liked the movie, the book was superb, however reality seemed to frighten her. She had never thought he would have been real, she could only wonder if he was more like his movie counterpart, or the more insane book counterpart.

"I can't escape from him…I never will," she sang quietly remembering the line from the movie as she looked around shaking like a hopeless dog before its abusive owner. There truly was no way to escape from him, this was his home, it had been so for years.

She gasped in fear once she heard someone land behind her as a black cape shrouded her view and wrapped around her as she was forced to back up against the Opera Ghost.

"Be careful what you wish for," he whispered to her as he glanced out at the empty seats of his Opera House. It had once been thriving with life, booming with business, but that all went downhill when _she _denied him. When _she_ chose the pampered rich boy over her angel of music. When _she _tore his heart from his chest and mocked him. When _she _left him, having taken all he could offer, his music, his trust, his hopes, his dreams. Everything.

"You just might get it all," he finished as darkness took over her, her eyelids feeling heavy as he hummed to himself putting her to sleep.

The Opera House would be in business once more, and he would be there to see it all happen, the time was drawing near for his legend to be revived once more. He hadn't composed for so long…he wondered if he still could, if his mind could still hold all of the mesmerizing ideas it once had.

"Damn bastard," she mumbled falling back against him once more as he caught her much like before, after all he needed her alive to use her as bait. Her friends would come looking for her, and with them would be whatever little authority the world still had, the ever-present media and newspapers.

Yes this could work out for him after all; all that was needed was someone to be his mask, his voice, his interpreter. And there she had suddenly fallen into his trap, he had been waiting so long for this chance, and now he had it.

He walked towards another of his countless hidden doors and opened it walking through it and down into the lower parts of the theater. The girl over his shoulder unaware of the mess she had gotten herself into…

The Angel of Music was back, and he was in desperate need of someone to revive him, to spark something long forgotten by him, his ability to compose glorious music.

The time was now.


	3. Sing For Me

**Sing For Me...**

**Bad writers block...so bad...nevertheless here it is! Enjoy ^-^'**

The Phantom sat at his organ, his fingers placed on the keys as he stared blankly at the sheet of paper in front of him, it was blank. No notes were written on it, no glorious melody…just nothing. He placed his head in his hands, this was wrong, he was the Angel of Music, but where was his ability to compose?

He sighed and got up from the seat and paced around his lair, he glanced at the gondola which still held the girl he had brought down here to help him in his task, she was still sleeping. The phantom simply sat down on his leather arm chair and picked up dying red rose he found lying around as he observed it carefully. It brought back painful memories, he quickly closed his hand around it and crushed the delicate petals as he opened it once more and let them fall to the ground.

His eyes quickly shot up once he heard a splash followed by complaints.

"Son of a bitch!" Monica yelled panicked just before she lost her balance and fell into the water. It was freezing much to her predicament. She quickly swam to the surface shaking with her arms around her. Her head snapped over to the Phantom as her expression quickly turned from surprised into fearful.

She trudged out of the water, her teeth chattering loudly as she walked back away from him.

"Why am I here?" she asked while his eyes followed her every move, if she continued to walk backwards she would quickly…before he could even tell her she lost her footing and fell back, she had tripped over some books he had left lying around.

"I have brought you here for one purpose and one alone," he told her standing and tossing the dying stem of the rose aside, a thorn nicking his palm slightly as a drop of blood ran down his fingertips, "you are going to assist me in bringing the Opera house back to life," he told her as he walked over to her, she quickly tried to back away from him as he continued to walk calmly to her.

When he reached her he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her to make her face him, "I expect you to cooperate, should these commands be ignored something will happen to you," he told her venom dripping in his voice as she gulped while looking into his ice blue eyes.

She nodded her head as tears pooled at her eyes, upon seeing this his expression changed somewhat as he released her quickly and brought himself up to his full height once more as he walked away from her leaving her there to stare after him in confusion.

"Why me?" she cried after him tears spilling down her eyes, tears of hate. He stopped to look at her, for a fleeting second she reminded him of _her _that fateful night when she told him she hated him. He shook the though away before turning back to his organ and sitting down on it while picking up a pen and ink and concentrating on his work.

"You were foolish enough to come looking for me, now you got what you came here for," he told her calmly as she gathered enough courage and picked herself up backing up against a wall and staring at his form hunched over the organ, he seemed tired…exhausted almost.

She felt pity for him…somewhat. He had kidnapped her after all; it was useless trying to escape from him. This was his home; she would probably get lost trying to escape. She bit her lower lip as she shook, she was cold but there was no way in hell she would ask for his assistance.

"It wasn't my idea," she mumbled as he turned to look at her slightly.

"Pardon," he replied as a small amount of rage flashed through her eyes.

"IT WASN'T MY IDEA TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU!" she yelled at him hoping she would get to him as he tilted his head, this was going to be a long and painful ride if she didn't cooperate with him, her being loud wasn't helping with his composing.

His head throbbed from the volume she had used as he clenched his teeth slightly, he wasn't used to this, nor would he have it be something new to him.

"I do not care, you still thought it amusing to run around through my home," he told her as she clenched her fists dying to land a hard punch to that face of his. Hoping to at least crack his mask, to make it fall, anything to irritate him.

"I can't leave can I?" she asked hopeless as she looked around, truth be told the place was magnificent, candles were on every surface lighting the lair in a luminous way, the various paintings hung on the stone walls. His organ, she could tell he had probably made it himself, she could make out a lot of detail and she was standing far away from it. She peeked her head through a red curtain to find a bed with silk covers shaped in the form of a swan.

"That is where you will be staying, anything else is out of bounds for you, you are to touch nothing, unless I tell you to," he told her as she walked in, she could faintly hear what he had told her. She was too entranced with the room to care.

It was beautiful; she could tell he had taken his time in doing everything. She ran her hand over the silk bed and smiled despite the situation, she could have never dreamt of having a bed like this, she had to hand it to the Phantom; he had a way with decorating. A dresser caught her eye as she rushed over and opened it. Much to her disappointment it only held dresses, elaborately made and gloriously detailed. Sadly she never was one for wearing them, a white shirt caught her attention as she pulled it out immediately and noticed it was probably his.

She shrugged the thought off and changed from her soaked clothes as she tossed them aside and slipped on the shirt, it was huge on her, but it was at least dry. It rested just above her knees. She ignored the comments she would probably get due to it being somewhat inappropriate as she looked around and found some leather pants at the bottom of the dresser. She crossed her fingers hopping they weren't huge. She almost screamed in joy when she noticed they were the perfect size for her.

It then hit her; he had probably put those pieces there on purpose. She silently thanked him as she slipped inside of the pants and tucked the shirt slightly giving her a pirate look with the ruffled shirt and tight pants.

She pulled on some boots she found at the dresser as well as she walked over to a mirror he miraculously still had and nodded in approval to herself. It was better than nothing. She halted when she heard the most beautiful sound flood through her body and thoughts. He was playing something on the organ and it was mesmerizing to her, almost hypnotizing. She walked out of the room as she pushed the curtain aside and walked over to him, he was so into the tune that he failed to notice she was looking over him. His fingers seemed to dance over the keys thinking on their own accord as she continued to watch, her eyes landing on the piece of paper he had next to him.

She was shocked to find it blank, where was he reading this from…or was it all just out of his mind. Impossible! Nothing this beautiful could be thought of that quickly and without fault. And yet there he was playing it by memory.

"It's beautiful," she told him as he stopped suddenly and turned to look at her dressed in what he had put in the dresser as a last resort, he had a feeling she would not put on the dresses.

"Get ready we will be heading to the upper levels in a few minutes," he told her as she looked at his back and noticed a spec of blood on it. Her hand instantly flew up to see what was wrong as she brushed it slightly over it making him hiss and shoot out of the seat.

"Do not touch me!" he thundered to her as she shrunk immediately under his gaze, he towered over her making her look away in fear once more as he calmed himself. She was just curious, nothing to get worked up about, but when you were cast away from the world for so long, you learned to watch your back.

He sighed as he kept himself in check and backed away from her as she slowly found it in herself to approach him once more. If they wouldn't get along this would prove disastrous. Her instincts however kicked in, she had always been one to be concerned over other people, she always put them first even if it meant delaying her needs in the process. Seeing him like that just made her want to see what was wrong.

"What happened?" she asked in a soft voice as he ignored her and snatched his cape off of the chair that was nearby as he put in on in one single swish. He walked over to her and grabbed her roughly by the arm while pushing her ahead as they walked through the lair heading towards another curtain.

Monica remembered that behind most of these held mirrors behind them, was me mad? Did he want them to crash into them? Nevertheless he continued to walk with confidence as she tensed and tried to go back as his grip tightened even more causing her to wince. It would probably leave a mark due to the pressure he was applying. He shoved her through the curtain, much to her surprise she went right through it and right into a dark hallway as he stepped through and walked on ahead of her, his eyes used to this kind of darkness as he left her behind while she walked slowly using the walls as guidance.

He stopped once he noticed she wasn't behind him anymore and went back to fetch her, he forgot she wasn't like him, she hadn't spent an eternity underground, her eyes weren't used to this type of lighting. They were used to the light above, of a free world, a world where he would easily be shunned from.

He pulled her along with agitation, she would have to move faster than this in the future if she was to live with him. They quickly made their way to the top levels of the Opera Populaire as they stood on the stage. He quickly walked off and jumped down as he waited for her to follow. After a moment of hesitation she too jumped and followed after him afraid to provoke him and to snap at her. She had seen a brief flash of that, and she didn't want to see it again.

"Hurry up," he barked at her as she jumped slightly and picked up her pace as he stopped at the doors leading outside of the theater and pulled out a bag while tossing it to her. She threw him a questioning glance as he glared back at her.

"Do not question me girl, outside is a pair of gentlemen who intend to sell this place to you, if you so much as say anything about me or that you are being held against you will you will never see the light of day again," he told her, she could tell he meant it.

He opened the door to her and pushed her out as she gasped at the sudden cold air that hit her face as she walked down the stairs and over to a black car that held two men standing outside well dressed with papers in their hands.

"What could you possibly want with this place young lady?" one of them asked as she shrugged and handed the bag over to them as they opened it while their mouths dropped open in surprise, it was money, gold coins from back in the day. Worth more today than before. They looked up at the girl again, her teeth chattering loudly as she hugged herself.

"Well it's all yours," they told her as one of them handed her the papers and the other the key to the Opera house. She took them quickly and started to walk back in but stopped just before she walked in when they called after her.

"Good luck with the Phantom!" they called jokingly after her. She had to hold back desperate scream, tears flowed down her face as they halted and started to freeze due to the cold breeze.

"If you only knew," she whispered clutching the papers close to her chest as she walked back into the theatre where her life would become a living hell under the Opera Ghost's watch. The world would never know of this unfair treatment. This was unfair, she didn't deserve to be kidnapped by some Phantom, hell he should be dead by now…and where was Jack when she needed him?

She silently prayed that he came back for her; she didn't want to be the Phantom's prisoner forever, hell she wished she could just drop the papers and run right now. She knew better, instead she just collapsed on the steps crying to herself as a tune escaped from her lips.

_"Please, please forgive me,_

_But I won't be home again._

_Maybe someday you'll have woke up,_

_And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:_

_"Isn't something missing?"_

_You won't cry for my absence, I know -_

_You forgot me long ago._

_Am I that unimportant...?_

_Am I so insignificant...?_

_Isn't something missing?_

_Isn't someone missing me?_

_Even though I'd be sacrificed,_

_You won't try for me, not now._

_Though I'd die to know you love me,_

_I'm all alone._

_Isn't someone missing me?_

_Please, please forgive me,_

_But I won't be home again._

_I know what you do to yourself,_

_Shudder deep and cry out:_

_"Isn't something missing?_

_Isn't someone missing me? "_

_Even though I'd be sacrificed,_

_You won't try for me, not now._

_Though I'd die to know you love me,_

_I'm all alone._

_Isn't someone missing me?_

_And if I bleed, I'll bleed,_

_Knowing you don't care._

_And if I sleep just to dream of you_

_And wake without you there,_

_Isn't something missing?_

_Isn't something..._

_Even though I'd be sacrificed,_

_You won't try for me, not now._

_Though I'd die to know you love me,_

_I'm all alone._

_Isn't someone missing me?"_

She looked up at the theater, and then back down, this was going to kill her. Did her friends just not care enough to come and get her? Was she truly that unimportant? She knew they probably didn't give a damn about her being kidnapped; they would probably go on living their lives and forget she even existed.

It pained her to think of it that way and yet she knew it was true.

The Phantom had watched the whole transaction go smoothly, by the looks of it she had remained quiet about the whole situation she was in and started to walk back to him. The car with the two men drove off and almost immediately she collapsed on the steps, he was about to go out and pick the pathetic girl up when something stopped him and caused him to freeze on the spot.

She was singing, something he had longed to hear, someone else's voice other than his own. And yet the words in the song she was singing pained him, he knew what he was doing to her was wrong, but how many times had the world wronged him? How many times had it stabbed him in the back? Enough to let him know that he couldn't trust anyone or anything.

Sure she was nothing compared to _her_ but with a little work she could be. The Phantom made a mental note to make her sing once more once they were inside and down in his lair as he sighed to himself, how things had changed.

He waited for her to finish, once she did he calmly walked out and picked her up gently. She made no protest, no remarks, no signs that she even acknowledged him. She simply allowed herself to be dragged in to her prison once more by the man who controlled her life now. She couldn't change anything, she never would.

He led her through the theater and down once more to the lair as he let her go once they were inside while he walked over to his organ and sat down calmly. What he said next however caused her to look up at him in shock.

"Sing," he commanded as her fearful chocolate eyes locked with his blue ones. She shook her head, she couldn't sing, she wasn't a singer.

"I can't," she told him as anger rose in him; he had given her a simple task, why couldn't she just follow through.

"I shall repeat myself only once…now sing," he told her as she fumbled with her hands and looked down, opening her mouth as she finally started to sing, the sound echoing through the lair and into his ears as a smile crept onto the corner of his lips.

_"Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding._

_Fall into your sunlight._

_The future's open wide, beyond believing._

_To know why, hope dies._

_Losing what was found, a world so hollow._

_Suspended in a compromise._

_The silence of this sound, is soon to follow._

_Somehow, sundown._

_And finding answers._

_Is forgetting all of the questions we called home._

_Passing the graves of the unknown._

_As reason clouds my eyes, with splendor fading._

_Illusions of the sunlight._

_And a reflection of a lie, will keep me waiting._

_With love gone, for so long._

_And this day's ending,_

_Is the proof of time killing, all the faith I know._

_Knowing that faith, is all I hold._

_And I've lost who I am, and I can't understand._

_Why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love, without, love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on._

_But I know, all I know, is that the end's beginning._

_Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart._

_Let me go and I will run, I will not be silent._

_All this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain._

_All is lost, hope remains, and this war's not over._

_There's a light, there's the sun, taking all shattered ones._

_To the place we belong, and his love will conquer all…_

_Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding._

_Fall into your sunlight…"_

He was pleased with this…but why did he feel partially guilty for her. He shook the thought off, it was meaningless to argue with himself now. He turned to look at her once more as she collapsed at his feet understanding the fate she had just sealed for herself.

"You can't do this! When have I wronged you?" she cried as he shook her off and turned his face away from her, he was the Opera Ghost, and not even a girl would convince him once he set his mind on something.

"Get some rest," he told her as she looked up at him once more, his face was completely shadowed, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. She picked herself up and walked slowly and solemnly towards her 'room' she opened the curtain and looked back at him.

"Were not all the same…so don't hate me because I remind you of her!" she yelled back at him as he froze. He hadn't expected that, had she seen it in his eyes as he watched her sing?

He turned from his organ and rose slowly, his anger seething, how dare she tell him what to do or how to think? He turned to yell something back only to see her gone from his view, he thought about going after her to settle this little dispute but though better of it.

He simply sighed and ran a hand through his black hair as he walked away from his music, stepping over sheets of scattered notes and over to his room, she had to come out of hers eventually. He would rest until she decided to do so, and when she did, he would teach her never to mess with the Phantom of the Opera.

**Review! On a side note, the songs were Missing by Evanescence and Shattered by Trading Yesterday. Just as a little note incase some of you were wondering heheh :)**


	4. Learn to Be Lonely

**Learn to Be Lonely...**

_**A/N: Hmmm well it hasnt been that long since I last updated right? Heheheh ;D Nevertheless here it is and hope you enjoy it!**_

_** SexyKnickers: I am aware that he was an ass in the past chapter...but then again its the Phantom ;D heheheh He cant be all fluffy and nice to her all of a sudden right? After all he still might be hurting from Christine, dont worry though I dont plan on making him look that bad for long :D** _

She stormed into the room, the nerve of the damn Opera Ghost to treat her in such a manner! She had seen it in his eyes as she sang to him, that brief moment when he wasn't looking at her, but at Christine. She reminded him of that soprano singer who shattered everything in his life ages ago, and she hated herself for it. She in no way represented the soprano with the angelic voice.

Her hair was black and straight unlike Christine's wavy chocolate curls. Her eyes were a deep shade of brown unlike Christine's light brown orbs. She in no way resembled the famous singer in any way, she was the complete opposite, even their voices were different, while Christine could hit the higher notes with ease she had to practice for a while or else she would struggle with them. She wasn't an angel of music, nor did she wish to be, she was simply human.

She stormed about the room kicking a pile of books aside as tears of rage spilled down her cheeks, how did she ever get herself into this mess?

She growled in desperation as she fell back on the bed while turning over lying face down crying. This was all a nightmare; she just wished she would wake sooner. Hell, she knew she wasn't dreaming, but why her? She laid there for a while, just thinking of the events in her life leading up to her being the Opera Ghost's prisoner.

She inwardly winced, perhaps she had said too much…she had accused him of thinking she was Christine, surely something like that would have him raging. She only wished she never had to leave the room she was currently in; sadly her stomach had other plans. It grumbled loudly as she rolled over again and walked quietly on her tiptoes to the entrance as she poked her head through the curtain and looked around.

He was nowhere in sight, it was now or never. She quickly shuffled around the lair looking for something to eat; the man had to have food right? Wrong, not a single scrap of food was to be seen, only an endless sea of papers, ink and roses. She huffed and pouted crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at the lair, her eyes scanning the place once more in case she missed something during the first run.

She growled quietly once she noticed there was nothing, what did he expect of her? Did he want her to starve? Of course he did, he was the Phantom of the Opera after all, the bastard probably did this on purpose. Had she not been too caught up with him and his damn music she would have noticed long before and she would have had a plan brewing by now.

She picked up one of his famous half masks she found on her way to the edge of the lake as she examined it closer, it was carefully made, probably hard to replace or fix. She wondered what lay behind his mask, was it truly that bad that he wanted to hide it from the world? She couldn't help but feel somewhat sad for him, how long had he been down here shunned from the world? How long had it been since he had someone live in his lair besides himself?

She sat down near the edge of the water as she looked down at her reflection bored out of her mind tossing little stray pieces of rock into it as she hummed to herself, the mask on her lap. This was torturing her and she was starting to get a headache, where was he when she needed him anyway? Despite all of her complaints she didn't really want to see him, what if he went psycho on her once more? Surely he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

She sighed loudly, a little too loud as she closed her eyes for a brief second her sleepless nights catching up to her as she swayed lightly in her spot threatening to fall over into the river…again.

She failed to notice the dark figure standing over her, her eyes were completely closed by now as the Phantom towered over her, he hadn't forgotten what she had so hatefully yelled at him, nor would he, but now wasn't the time to argue with her over such things. She was about to fall in to the water and something like that would surely cause her to complain once more and give him another headache.

He caught her by the back of well, his shirt, the one she currently had on and pulled her back before she had a chance to fall in. She made no objections fully unaware of what he was doing. He picked her up and carried her back into her room as he set her down on the swan bed once more. She rolled away from him and hugged a pillow pulling it close to her as he started to walk away from her.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, what would have happened had he not been there? Truly she was wreck less…he would have to keep a better eye on her, had she not made that loud sigh he would have kept sleeping while she did yet another stupid act.

He glanced around his lair and found several of his things misplaced, clearly she had been searching for something, he paid closer attention, one of his masks was missing. He glanced around quickly slight panic in his eyes as he tore through the room with his calculative eyes. He shook his head slightly as he turned to look at her room, he had a feeling it was in there as he walked back to her again.

His boots echoed loudly much to his dismay, how she could walk so silently was beyond his comprehension. Then again, he was taller than her, obviously his build was more than hers, perhaps that had something to do with it was well. He ignored all of it as he stepped through and looked around her room.

Everything was in its place, untouched except for a pile of books he recalled being neatly stacked up one on top of the other. They were currently tossed about the room; he ignored that and looked at her. He was about to go out once more when something white in her hand caught his attention, it was his mask.

He tried to quietly walk over to her as he crouched down and started to remove it from her grasp as she sighed softly, his eyes shot up to her only to notice she was still sleeping, her grasp on the white mask however lessened as he slipped it away from her and stood once more.

He stood up once more and started to leave until something caught his attention and caused him to freeze in the doorway; he had caused her to wake.

"Why must you wear that tormented thing?" she asked softly stretching on the bed having woken and lost her interest in going back to sleep. She could tell as soon as it slipped out of her mouth she hit a personal chord, she regretted saying it almost instantly. He tensed visibly as his shoulders dropped dangerously. She jumped when he spun around quickly a glare on his eyes as he stalked over to her.

She backed away as he drew closer; she could tell this wasn't going to end well…why she had asked such a stupid question was beyond her comprehension.

"Why? Why? Are you truly that idiotic, child!" he thundered at her as she flinched when he rose his hand above her and fell off of the bed landing face first. The loud thud echoing through his sensitive ears followed by the soft cry only he could have picked up. He blinked for a couple of seconds before realizing what he had done.

She struggled to pick herself up and stared up in fear at him as he caught himself and immediately pulled back, he had gotten out of control once more. If this continued she would no doubt hate him if she didn't already. Now calm he turned to look at her, she hadn't even moved from her place on the ground. She was terrified of him and he could easily tell, she probably viewed him as a monster and nothing more.

She stared up at him in fear, had he really intended to hit her? She could only assume things; he had controlled himself after all. She gasped in fear once he moved over to her, his gloved hand wrapping around her arm, she winced slightly despite his gentle grip, the bruise he had made before burned despite him being careful with her.

"Come," he told her once she was on her feet as he released her and walked out of her room, she hesitantly followed after him still shaken up by what had happened a second ago. She made a mental note to never ask him of his mask…ever.

How he could change personalities that fast surprised her, one minute he was raging and the next he was calm. Something like that had to be fixed, and she was questioning whether it had all happened due to him living down here all by himself. Yes of course, that had to be it.

She followed behind his huge frame quietly almost cowering in his shadow. She looked around the lair, several things were out of place, and surely he would go on and on about how she should never touch anything that didn't belong to her. She prepared herself for a lecture when she ran into something solid.

He glanced back as she ran into his back, had she really been that distracted?

"I'm sorry," she murmured backing away immediately fearing to be hit at the very least, much to her surprise he simply continued to walk, she followed swiftly behind as soon as she noticed he didn't acknowledge her.

"I suppose you are hungry," he told her motioning for a table with a swift movement of his hand, the gesture seemed to be hypnotizing to her, he put such grace into the simplest things which made it seem like he had years and years of practice.

She followed his hand to see the table which had once been empty assorted with various plates of food, her eyes widened as she turned to look at his retreating form as he headed once more towards his organ thinking of music to compose. She walked over shyly to the table and sat down quietly as she glanced back up at him and noticed he was not going to join her.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked quietly as he looked up from the organ and back at her, his eyes focused on hers as she looked away embarrassed. He held back the urge to laugh; she truly seized to amaze him. One moment she was cowering in fear and the next she was worrying over his well-being.

"I already ate," he lied to her as she nodded her head slowly, she had a feeling as well that he had been lying but decided to dismiss it, besides it looked like he wasn't in need of any nourishment for the time being. His well-built frame told her that much, perhaps the Opera house had a say in that as well, he needed to be in shape in order to get around up above the stage between the never-ending seas of ropes and props.

She began to eat slowly as he resumed his mussing over his sheets of various operas he had come up with over the years. Her eyes being brought up to him once she noticed his fingers settle over the keys as he began to play a soft tune as she continued to eat in peace. She sighed in content; the notes flowed flawlessly through the lair and echoed off of the walls giving it a chilling tone to it.

It was then that she noticed that for a brief second she felt at home, like she wasn't his prisoner, like she had been destined to meet the famous Opera Ghost. Of course this was all preposterous. Something like that was impossible and she knew it, she scolded herself for it as well as she stabbed a piece of apple from another plate and brought it up to her mouth but stopped once she noticed he was nearing the end of the song.

She placed her fork down and walked over to him once more. She silently stepped up behind him and watched him play for a while as the song flowed through both of their minds, she thought she recognized the tune for a brief second but dismissed it as he closed his eyes feeling the vibrations coming from his organ. He hadn't noticed she was there; he was too into his song to have heard her approach.

It then hit her that the song he was playing had been in the movie, well his movie, 'The Phantom of the Opera'.

She hummed along but quickly found she had been singing and not humming as his eyes shot open and then turned to look at her, he continued to play as she sang to him, it was the first time someone had sang something to him in ages.

_"Child of the wilderness_

_Born into emptiness_

_Learn to be lonely_

_Learn to find your way in darkness_

_Who will be there for you?_

_Comfort and care for you?_

_Learn to be lonely_

_Learn to be your one companion_

_Never dreamed out in the world_

_There are arms to hold you…_

_You've always known your heart was on its own_

_So laugh in your loneliness_

_Child of the wilderness_

_Learn to be lonely_

_Learn how to love life that is lived alone_

_Learn to be lonely_

_Life can be lived_

_Life can be loved_

_Alone…"_

He stopped as she held out the last note as he turned to look back at her, their eyes met for a brief second as she finally ended as well. Her face turned bright red once she noticed she was literally leaning on his back as he blinked once or twice at the words in the song.

Learn to be lonely, that was something he had learned well. Hell he was the master of it, and yet he wasn't as lonely anymore. The lair seemed brighter, more alive than before. She put a touch to it that just made it seem more at home.

"I-I uh…I'm sorry for interrupting you," she apologized backing away from him once more as he turned to look at his sheets of music, his mind running wild. The angel was back, and he was just dying to release all of his ideas down on paper. Something with her just seemed to bring back his ability to compose and he was thankful for it, for years he had been cursed with the inability to write.

He rose slowly and turned to look at her as she backed away by instinct.

"Do not fear me, child," he told her his deep voice racing through her mind as he offered his hand to her as she looked at it and then back up at him. She took it after a moment of debate with herself as he pulled her closer to him and over to the organ.

She followed without protest as he motioned for her to sit; she silently obeyed as she sat at the famous organ that belonged to the Phantom. Just by the mere vibe she was getting from it she could tell it was a privilege to even sit near it, now to be actually allowed to touch it. Now that right there was a miracle.

She ran her fingers carefully over the keys as she looked up at him expecting for him to say something, anything really as he walked out of her sight and returned seconds later with paper and ink. He handed her a pen as she took it willingly and ran a hand through her hair pushing it back and out of her face as she waited for him to give orders.

"Write that song down on the paper," he told her calmly as she glanced back at him and began to write down the lyrics for him in cursive dipping the pen down occasionally into the blood red ink and writing again. He watched as her hand flew across the paper, he could tell she had done this before, no one in her time could have written so perfectly with a pen of his time without practicing first.

"Have you done this before?" he asked moving out of her sight once more as she chuckled slightly, if only he knew.

"I have actually, I used to help my father write letters to 'employees'…" she told him her voice turning to dark as she paused writing and stared blankly at the paper before her, flashbacks flooding through her mind as he paused as well to look at her. Someone with a keen ear as his would have noticed she didn't like talking about that subject so he let it slip and picked up a book as he opened it and began to read calmly as she shook her head.

She resumed writing as she paused slightly once more and dropped the pen picking up on something as he too looked up from his book and closed it with one quick movement and placed it down over the keys of the organ as he moved over to her and paused to hear.

"Ok guys don't make so much noise!" someone said as they heard the familiar sound of people walking through the water. Monica looked up at the Phantom, she didn't recognize the voice but somehow she knew it wasn't something pleasant once his eyes glazed over in rage.

"There is no Phantom of the Opera why are we down here we could get lost!" another whined as Monica turned to look at the Phantom in concern, she could tell they were already getting on the nerve of the Opera Ghost, probably like she and her friends had done.

"I heard music so don't tell me I'm crazy!" the other replied as the splashes grew closer. Monica got up slowly from the organ and walked over to his side as she took his arm without thinking and pulled him away, he refused to budge.

"Come on!" she whispered desperately to him as she tugged harder, it was useless, he was ripped and there was nothing she could do to move him. He suddenly moved away from her and over to the side of the organ as he pulled out something from the side and turned to face the entrance once more. By the sounds of it he could tell there were only two, male and young about Monica's age perhaps a little older.

She froze as they finally appeared and looked at her with confusion.

"I didn't know the Phantom was a girl," one of them added as she looked around desperately for the Phantom, he was nowhere in sight.

"Well she's a pretty one isn't she," the other added as an evil glint flashed through his eyes as she shook her head and backed away from the pair slowly, where the hell was the Opera Ghost when she truly needed him.

"Ya' thinking what I'm thinking?" The same one asked as he turned to look at his friend who was already moving over to her faster than before the loud splashes echoing through the lair.

"Pretty girl down here all by herself…hmm, I like the sound of that," the other replied as they reached out for her as she backed up quickly her hands resting on the keys of the organ as it emitted the low notes eerily as she glanced around for the one man she could actually trust in this situation, he was still nowhere to be found.

"You hold her down and make sure she stays quiet," the other told his friend as they pulled her away from the large organ as one of them held her hands back and held her in place for his friend.

"I'm gonna enjoy this," the other told her whispering into her ear as she shuddered in disgust and swung her leg at him landing a hard blow to his stomach as he recoiled and fell back as his friend tightened the grip he had on her to the point where she felt her wrists were going to crack.

"Bitch stop moving!" he thundered into her ear as she winced at the tone, this situation wasn't in her favor and it was getting out of control. She dropped her head in defeat, this was just plain enraging to her, she couldn't do anything.

"Damn it get off of I'll call the Devil on you," she growled regaining her stubborn side as she readied herself for another attack at them as the other guy recovered and stood while clenching a fist and walking over to her dangerously.

"The Devil is busy at the moment," he told her mockingly as he raised his fist ready to bring it down on her to teach her some manners.

"The Phantom however is not," a voice thundered at him as a lasso flew through the air and wrapped around his arm pulling him back brutally as a yelp escaped from his lips as the Opera Ghost forced him to slam down on the cold hard ground a boot over his neck as he glanced back up at his friend.

"Oh fuck…" he choked in horror as he released Monica causing her to stumble and fall once more into the river as she surfaced gasping for air and shaking at the cold water.

The Phantom however was seeing red with rage by now as he undid the lasso around the arm of the one he had pinned and tossed it at the other, the rope wrapping around his neck as he gave it an animalistic pull satisfied with the crack he heard as he dropped dead before he even reached the ground.

He glanced down at the one he had underneath him as he prepared to kill him as well before something startled him and caused him to look up.

"No!" she yelled at him as his eyes shot up to meet hers, there was something truly amazing about her, no one had ever dared to order him around. She had tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at him pleadingly, "Enough!" she yelled catching him off guard. How many had he killed already? Enough…he had never been told that it was enough, that he should stop. No one was that foolish.

He glanced back down at the boy he had underneath him, he would surely run and tell that he existed, and as much as he wanted to let him go, both he and Monica knew that it wasn't possible now that he had seen all of this, his lair, his hiding place, he had seen the Phantom himself.

He decided to end it quickly as he crouched down and took his face into his gloved hands, for a second he pitied the boy, had he not come looking for the Devil this wouldn't have happened. He looked away as he turned his head quickly, a crack coming from his neck as well as he released his body.

He stood up and walked over to help Monica out of the water, he offered his hand but she slapped it away in fear.

"How could you?" she asked softly as she looked at the bodies of the dead guys who now lay unmoving on the ground and then back at the Opera Ghost in horror.

The Phantom on the other hand was feeling nothing but rage, "They were about to-" he started as she interrupted him.

"You killed them nonetheless! You could have spared them…was that too much to ask for?" she yelled back as she got out of the water and brushed past him leaving him standing there bewildered.

He decided he would get rid of the bodies first, once he did he would decide what to do next and move on, the Opera house had to be back in working conditions and soon, they couldn't risk anymore unwanted visitors showing up looking for him.

Once he had taken care of the pair he walked towards her room solemnly, he knew what he did was wrong but he wasn't about to let them take advantage of her either, perhaps killing them had been extreme…that was the reason Christine detested him.

He killed without remorse, he couldn't afford to have Monica mad at him as well, much less afraid. She was his muse of music after all and he needed her now more than ever if his legend was to be revived once more….

**Review dont just put it on alert...thats right...you know who you are! Dont make me team up with the Phantom and track all of you down ;D Make me happy and just leave a little note telling me what you think...I wont bite I promise ;D **


	5. Temptations

**Temptations...**

**A/N: Alright here it is ;D Enjoy!**

Once again he had shown her why she couldn't trust him, and once again it had left her disappointed. The hope of him ever being compassionate going out the door as soon as he killed the pair before her eyes.

Once again she was wet thanks to that damn lake of his, why he lived down here was a riddle to her. She could hear him outside, by now she knew what sounds he made, the shuffling of paper, the usual note escaping from his organ. The bastard was avoiding her, and she knew it.

She poked her head through the curtain once more to find him slumped over his organ a pen in hand as he stared blankly down at the paper. Why he wasn't writing down anything sent a spark of curiosity through her. She really didn't want to go near him, but hell her chance was now to get him back for killing two people in front of her.

"Something wrong?" she asked walking up behind him as he sighed ever so softly, he could have heard her coming a mile away, and yet her voice was different. She had a cold tone to it, much too different from her usual speaking tone.

"Why would you ask such things?" he replied still staring at the paper as she paced behind him still thinking why she was doing this, for all she knew he could turn around and kill her with his lasso if she got on his bad side.

"You're not writing anything down…and it's been three hours since you last played anything, need I continue?" she replied still in a monotone voice which almost made him wince, almost. He knew killing the two was a mistake, something he thought he had long put behind him. He wasn't, however, going to go and ask for forgiveness for his acts, he had done what was necessary.

"Child you are distracting me," he warned trying to remain calm, he could tell she was trying to get on his nerves but why now of all the times? He was busy at the moment, but he knew why, she just wanted to get him back for what he had forced her into. His grip around his pen tightened slightly as he closed his eyes slightly, how long had it been since he last slept?

"Ah so you can talk…this is something new," she told him walking over to a table he had, something had caught her attention and she was going to check it out whether he cared or not, in her opinion he didn't even want her there anyway. His eyes opened slowly once more as he shook his head slightly, this wasn't like him, he was usually more alert…it was something about her that made him feel less tense, and while something like that might bring relief to others it only brought anger to him.

The years had taught him that carelessness was a mistake, something so simple could cause disaster, now to have him fall asleep while she was there…surely she would take advantage of it and leave. He couldn't afford such a mistake.

The Phantom turned his head to look at her slightly when she picked up another of his masks, this one however was the one he had worn to the masquerade, the Red Death mask. His brow rose when she held it up to the level of her face and put it on, no one had ever worn one of his masks but him, it even caused him to turn to look at her more when she walked around with it still on.

"I like it," she told him taking it off finally, her voice changing to a compassionate tone once she looked at him, he looked exhausted. It caused something within her to feel pity for him and no longer the hate she had felt so strongly before. She set his mask down where she had found it being careful to avoid moving anything else out of its place as she walked over to him once more.

"Are you tired?" she asked concerned crouching in front of him trying to look at his face which he kept shadowed and away from her. He tried not to laugh at the question, she was good at acting, he had to give her that much.

"Do you think me stupid?" he growled slightly as she jumped at the tone he used with her. She quickly turned rather defensive, something she was surprised she was doing with him of all people as she stood up hands on her hips with a stubborn look on her face.

"How dare you! Here I am worrying over you and you think I'm playing with you? I'm not leaving you bastard!" she told him…well…rather yelled.

His eyes shot up to look at her in surprise, truly how long had he been hiding? She was like nothing compared to the women of his time, while they would remain quiet in respect she simply yelled at him in defiance. He debated however whether all of this was true.

"Come, you need some sleep, I will not have a half-dead Phantom walking around, for all we know you could fall into the lake or something…now that would be a tragedy," she told him, the last part of her sentence dripping with sarcasm managing to crack a grin from the Opera Ghost. Him falling in the water? The nerve of the girl to think so little of him.

He was going to remain at his organ for a good while, or at least he had planned to, until her hands slipped around his arm and pulled him up with difficulty as he stumbled slightly surprised that she would even dare to touch him. She seemed rather oblivious to the fact however as she dragged him towards his 'room.' Before she could lead him in however he shook her off gently and gave her a stare that told her not to follow.

She scowled at him slightly standing behind him, it was then that she noticed how tall he really was, hell he towered over her. Not only that but his normal proud stance wasn't there, it was replaced by a weaker side of him, his shoulders were slumped and his head hung low. She didn't know why but in the three days she had spent down in the lair she had grown to hate it when he looked like this. It then hit her, had he even slept at all during that period?

"Do not disappoint me," he warned her giving her a stern look as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the Opera Ghost. She ushered him in with a wave of her hand as she turned and headed back to her own room.

"I'm not _her_, I'm not leaving," she growled at him just before he headed inside to his as he looked back at her and rose a brow slightly in curiosity. She was truly pushing him, no one dared to talk to him in that manner, he wasn't used to it, and yet it seemed to bring him some sense of relief to have someone to talk to. Someone to challenge him and contradict him, someone to just spend some time with…he had been alone for so long he had forgotten it felt to have someone other than himself there for company.

This was truly something rare, he thought. He shook the thoughts off as soon as he walked into his room; the strong scent of roses hit him as soon as he stepped inside. He didn't even bother in changing, he simply kicked off his boots and walked lazily towards his bed, passing sheets scattered everywhere, the endless seas of candles. Everything was dark if not black in color, even his sheets were of black silk. He allowed himself to fall back on them, his eyes closing instantly as he let out a sigh of relief.

He didn't notice, nor did he care at the moment when his half-mask fell off. After all it didn't matter, he had strictly told her to never come in to his room. She wouldn't dare to disobey that order.

Monica let out a sigh of relief once she heard nothing more from the Phantom. She was relieved that he had finally allowed himself the vital need of sleep that he had been depriving himself of. She sighed suddenly feeling tired herself. She walked over to her room stopping slightly at his organ when she noticed a single red rose lying on the keys.

It caught her attention without fail as she walked over and noticed there was a note underneath it. She rose an eyebrow in curiosity and turned to look at his room in interest. Surely he had put it there for her to see.

She carefully unfolded it glancing slightly at the rose once more as she began to read and let out a whistle of admiration at the magnificent cursive the Opera Ghost had:

_There should be some gentlemen here soon to see the repairs of the Opera House,_

_Do not be late in meeting them…._

_-O.G._

She had to hold back the urge to burst into his room and throw the note at him, the nerve, and to think he even had the guts to leave a damn rose. He probably put it there to tease her, yes that had to be it; he was getting back at her now for annoying him. When did he put it there though? The bastard was sneaky…

"Damn bastard," she whispered to herself, her brow twitching in agitation at the nerve of the man. She quickly found herself in another predicament, how was she supposed to meet said people if she couldn't even leave the lair?

Her eyes landed on the gondola he had as she eyed it suspiciously, yes that was the solution to all of her problems. She got on it with a determined look on her face before she lost her balance once more and ended up in the water…again.

She let out an annoyed growl kicking at the water and just walking towards the entrance of the lair from the mirror in Christine's room. She trotted slowly through the water not giving a damn as she finally reached the theater and descended to find someone knocking at the door already.

"Evening, were here about the renovations," a man said tilting his hat to her as she nodded and let him and his companion pass closing the door behind him.

After grueling hours of having to sit down with them and listening to them going on and on about how difficult it was going to be to renovate it and have it look the same they finally left. They agreed to come back tomorrow to start the task as she bid them farewell and stared after the car. It then dawned on her, there she was standing at the front of the Opera House, she could smell the fresh air, a new untouched coat of snow covering the grounds as she got the urge to simply run for it. To forget all about the Phantom.

She held back however, not because of his threats, but because she had told him she would stay. She wasn't Christine who would have already ran for freedom, she had told him she would stay, and he had partially trusted her. What would happen if he woke up and found her gone? Surely then he would lose all hope in ever trusting anyone.

All of these thoughts raced through her mind as she stood there still wet from her previous incident with the water, the cold air dancing around her mockingly. Freedom was so close and she couldn't have it. She debated with herself as a pair of metallic blue eyes watched her from above. The Phantom had woken long ago and was currently testing her, she would run and he knew it. Who wouldn't take such tempting bait?

"Run…run away child," he whispered to her as her figure remained frozen to the doorway. He continued to watch from the shadows, this was her chance…what was she waiting for?

Had he been someone else his jaw would have dropped of shock, instead however he clenched his jaw tightly and descended once he noticed her close the door and remain within the Opera House. She hadn't taken the bait, strangely that seemed to disappoint him. She was nothing like he had made her out to be, that was the first time he had ever been wrong in a long time.

She made her way back to the lair solemnly knowing she had done the right thing as she paused once she was inside of the mirror sneezing lightly as she jumped feeling someone drape something over her.

Her eyes widened as she watched the Opera Ghost brush past her and walk ahead disappearing into the darkness leaving her there as she turned and noticed his cape, or as he had corrected her once, cloak around her shoulders.

"Bravo," his voice echoed through the dimly lit hallway as she smiled slightly. This had all been a game for him; clearly by the tone he had used he had lost. She pulled the cloak around her tighter reveling in the strange warmth it gave her as she walked along using the walls as guides still. He had left her behind on purpose; he always did when he was agitated with her.

"Even Phantoms lose," she whispered to herself as his laugh came from up ahead, only he could have picked up something of that volume, damn him for being the Angel of Music.

His angelic laughter echoed off of the walls as she grinned as well. It was rare when he laughed in such a manner, she instantly fell in love with his laugh, it sent chills up her spine.

As for the score however she was more than happy to rub it in later: Monica 1, Phantom 0.

Their games however would soon end, her friends hadn't forgotten her and they would be back soon to bring her back with them. It had been three long days already and they were on their way to retrieve her and to once and for all, kill the Phantom of the Opera.

**Review! It made me smile to see some new faces reviewing ;D On a sidenote what do you guys think the Phantom is? A Ghost? Immortal? A vampire (XD)? Let me hear your thoughts on that...hehehe :D Till next time mein freunde.**


	6. Leave Me

**Leave Me...**

**A/N: Well here it is after major writers block, bare with me on this one ok guys...I literally forced myself to write it in order to update for those who reviewed ;D Enjoy!**

Monica woke to her usual alarm clock, the organ. The music flooded into her room and vibrated off the walls as she listened to the glorious tune not wanting to get up as she stared at the opening leading to the Phantom.

She sighed loudly dragging herself out of bed and out towards the Opera Ghost as she poked her head out of her room to look at him. As always he was to into his music to hear her approach.

"Morning," she told him walking over to a table and picking up an apple she found on it as she sat down and took a satisfied bite out of it. He tried not to laugh, she truly had no idea.

"You are late…they are going to be here in a matter of seconds," he reminded her as her mind caught up to her. The renovators! She had slept in as her eyes widened.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!" she yelled at him running towards the entrance before his calm voice stopped her.

"Child," he called after her as she stopped and looked back at him temper flaring, that nickname had her going insane.

"I have a name you know! And so do you I can't keep calling you Phantom," she told him walking back to him taking another bite from her apple as his shoulders tensed visibly…a name…his name…how long had it been since someone actually knew his name? Did he even remember it?

He clenched his teeth at the thoughts, "There is a stairway leading upstairs faster behind that curtain," he told her sternly pointing to the closest blood red curtain that hung up against the wall as she turned to look at it and then back at him, he was changing the subject on her again. Something he seemed to do often when he didn't want to talk about something personal.

"You didn't tell me your name," she replied completely forgetting her panic of being late as she walked over to him and stood behind him as he refused to look at her, could he truly trust her with something so personal to him.

He stood abruptly turning towards her as she gasped and stepped back immediately seeing his raging expression.

She quickly reminded herself that she wasn't going to stand behind his pet, one that he could beat and make her fear him. No, this ended now. Her original spirit back with her she stood up to him.

"Why must you be so stubborn, I just asked for your name!" she yelled outraged at him as she took a hold of the v shaped collar of his shirt and pushed him back causing him so stumble not expecting such a backlash from her.

He wasn't about to back down either as his hands shot up and wrapped around her wrist in a painful manner while applying agonizing pressure as he flipped their roles and backed her up against the organ. The sides of the large organ digging into her back as she winced and glared up to him. She pushed him back and freed herself taking a hold of his shoulders and pushing him back against his own organ, once more flipping their roles.

She had been with him for over three days now and this was the first time either of them had ever had some sort of contact with each other. They both stood there panting in agitation as his metallic blue eyes locked with her dark chocolate pair. She hated him, loathed to be more exact and yet his eyes…they were to say the least beautiful. Not that the Phantom himself wasn't good looking either, yes in her time with him she had started to notice him more and more and felt herself drawn to him at times. This being one of them, her hands never left his chest as he breathed heavily trying to catch his breath and calm his nerves.

He glared down at the woman that had dared to push him around and yet something about her made him hold back on his rage. He could have lassoed her a long time ago to save himself the trouble and yet there she was holding on to him and looking up at him with those eyes of hers that made something within him calm. He could feel her touch as he glanced down to his chest to find her hands resting there over his exposed chest.

He looked down as something within him stirred, neither of them noticing that their faces where inches apart until a loud crash came from the Opera House upstairs causing the celling of the lair to shake slightly as she backed away instantly blinking in confusion. What had she been about to do?

The Phantom pulled back as well, what had gotten into him? He instantly made a mental note to never allow something like that to ever happen again as he turned to look at her, he battled with his conscience over keeping her down here with him than letting her go upstairs to deal with the idiots, his mind lost to his pride. He would not have another woman mess with him ever again; he had learned plenty last time.

Monica stood looking at the Phantom in shock, had she really been about to kiss the Opera Ghost? No, she would never do that, he had tried to kill her once, knocked her around more that she could count and hurt her when she did nothing to provoke him. And yet he had saved her from the pair of guys that had tried to take advantage of her, he had offered her his cloak when she had been cold. She battled with herself; she couldn't be falling for the Opera Ghost, that was impossible.

She blushed thinking of what could have been had they not been interrupted as he too looked up at her finally snapping out of his thoughts as well. He refused to let his mind try to convince him he felt something more for the girl than just hate and resentment, she was perfect just like everyone else unlike him.

He walked over to her taking a hold of her arm more gently than before noticing the bruise he had left last time as he guided her towards the curtain, he needed her out of his sight to think and to avoid doing something rash without thinking of it.

"You never told me…" she whispered shyly to him as he urged her into the corridor leading upstairs as she looked back at him, blush hard to distinguish in the darkness of the hallway as his eyes trailed up to hers.

"Perhaps when you come back," he told her letting the curtain slip from his grasp as she sighed and turned from the hidden entrance to the lair and headed back upstairs quickly, he would never trust her and that fact bothered her.

"I wish you would trust me," she murmured back thinking of the Phantom, his lair, his music…his eyes. God how she loved his eyes, she had never seen anyone else with such a pair of magnificent orbs. She shook the thoughts away; she needed a clear mind for what was to come. She continued up the long stairway leaving the Opera Ghost behind to think and have some alone time if only briefly.

She halted as her breath caught in her throat as a melody made its way towards her, he was singing again, and this time she actually paused to hear him. This time she wasn't scared of him or threatened either. She simply felt something for the man that she couldn't quite place, she had grown used to him from her time spent with him, she found life unbearable unless she woke to his organ and she couldn't think of a time where she woke and didn't find him sitting on it waiting for her.

"No one would listen

No one but you…

Heard as the outcast hears.

Shamed into solitude

Shunned by the multitude

I learned to listen

In my dark, my heart heard music

I long to teach the world

Rise up and reach the world

No one would listen

I alone could hear the music

Then, at last, your voice in the gloom

Seemed to cry "I hear you"

I hear your fears

Your torment and your tears

You saw my loneliness

Shared in my emptiness

No one would listen

No one but you

Heard as the outcast hears

No one would listen

No one but you

Heard as the outcast hears..."

He finally finished with a low hit to the organ keys as she let a tear flow down her cheek, who had he been thinking of when he sang that? And his voice, dear lord his voice belonged to an angel not a Phantom, why someone would choose to live in solitude and away from the world with that voice had to be mad.

She continued after a second or two noticing she had paused to listen the whole time as she reached the top of the stairs and opened a large wooden door closing it behind her with a dull thud as it echoed all the way down to the lair alerting the Opera Ghost she had finally left.

He paused slightly composing himself; he had changed the lyrics to one of his songs, why? He silently dropped his head into his hands trying to understand what he had been thinking. When his fingers danced over the keys he had been thinking of the girl upstairs, when he sang he had been thinking of her also. That meant he had sung the song to her, that shocked him and sent a wave of both surprise and anger through him. No, he would never trust anyone ever again; the world had shown him how that turned out more than once.

They were all the same; they took advantage of him, took his music and everything he had to offer and left him. He had almost kissed her…what had come over him? He barely knew her and yet he felt right at home with her down in the lair with him, in fact now that she was gone he almost felt alone again, as if she never existed, that sent a pang of panic through him.

He didn't want to be alone now that she had shown him what company was, she would occasionally sing along to his music with lyrics unknown to him but nevertheless when he played and she sang he felt synchronized with everything. The notes just seemed to flow easier and without fault, he felt at peace within himself as well.

He felt like he shouldn't be keeping her prisoner, and yet at the same time he didn't want to let her go just yet. He ran his hand over his face, his fingertips brushing against his mask as rage flooded through him, that mask was the cause of his life being so miserable. She would run away from him in fear and disgust just like the rest if she ever saw him without it.

He silently wished he could be normal, just like everyone above him. To get rid of his mask, for once to be considered human.

He sulked around the lair for the rest of the day trying to steady his nerves with reading as he sat at his leather chair and gazed blankly at the pages, nothing was keeping his mind off of the girl upstairs. He wanted her to come back.

As if on cue her voice rang out through the corridors and walls as he perked up oblivious to the fact that her mere voice could cause such relief to flood through him.

"Have you forgotten your angel?" her voice sang as he shivered at the vibe he was getting off the walls as curiosity flowed through him, that was his part, why on earth would she want to sing his part?

She finally appeared through the doorway as he struggled and held back a laugh; instead a smirk tugging at the edges of his lips appeared as he looked her over. She was covered head to toe in dust and cob webs from the theater.

"I'm back," she called over to him as she passed him and headed to her room emerging seconds later cleaned up and dressed differently.

"Indulge me…why would you ever sing my part?" he asked out of nowhere as she paused walking and looked back at him and his serious expression, something about him seemed changed and she couldn't quite place it.

"Because it was always more passion filled and interesting," she shot back slightly annoyed before she realized what she had left slip out of her lips. Her face flushed a deep shade of red as she looked away from him…more passionate?

He got up from his chair and walked over to her slowly, he took her face into one of his hands and forced her to look up at him, he had always been taller than most people. She looked up to him blush still there as he looked back expression unreadable as she did what countless others had done. That vital mistake that others did and one that she had sworn never to do. Curiosity killed the cat.

Her hand reached up and caressed the exposed side of his face as he tensed immediately knowing where she was going with this. Upon realizing it his lips curled into a snarl as his eyes flooded with anger. He let go of her roughly and slapped her hand away as she stepped back bewildered.

"Get out," he warned a low voice refusing to look at her; she had tried to take his mask from him. He would never allow anyone else to look at his hideous self, he was ashamed of it and didn't want to go through the laughs and shame again.

She pulled back slightly afraid of him as pity showed through her expression as she tried to get near him again; she had wanted to see what he hid so desperately behind the mask. He had caught on however and stopped her.

He lashed out at her however before she could get close, "I said get out!" he thundered at her as she stepped back tears pooling at her eyes as she refused to listen to him, she had made a mistake in trying to see the man behind the mask. She regretted trying to uncover him as she reached out to him once more.

He snapped, he simply snapped. She had tried once to take his mask from him and now she had the nerve to go for it again. She knew this wasn't the case however; she just wanted to be forgiven for being foolish. He didn't see this however as he took her wrist in his hand rougher than ever before and shook her small frame violently.

"I told you to leave me!" he hissed letting go of her as she fell back to the ground crying in pain and regret as she looked up at him while he rose and pulled back his hand ready to strike her as she shielded herself with one of her own bruised arms and whimpered.

He caught himself once more upon seeing the expression of horror on her tear streaked face, god she was actually shielding herself form him and she was on the ground all thanks to him. She opened her eyes as fear shown clearly off of them and into his storming ones. He still had his hand pulled back, he would never strike her, he didn't really think himself capable of it.

She crawled away from him still shook up as he looked after her.

"Go now and leave me!" he yelled at her as she picked herself up and stumbled running as fast as her legs could carry her up towards the Opera House leaving the Opera Ghost behind with a mix of emotions hitting him at once.

He had scared her more than before and told her to leave, she had hesitated at first and now thanks to him she was gone forever. He silently walked over to his chair and sunk down in it regretfully…what had he done?

As soon as that last thought ran through his mind he pulled his white mask from his face and threw it across the room in rage as he shook trying to calm himself. The mask collided with a mirror behind a curtain, the silver shards falling to the ground as his mask cracked as well.

He held his head in his hands once more and let out a shaky breath before retiring back to his room. One more disaster caused by him…and the last. He decided he would never come out of his room, not even for his beloved organ and music. No, he would simply lie on his bed and sleep until the world stopped spinning and time ceased.

He passed the remaining pieces of his mask as he kicked them aside, the mask had always been his weakness, and once more it had ruined something that could have been for the Opera Ghost, something that he longed for and yet never obtained.

Love.

**Review dont just put it on alert! I update faster when I get reviews! And it makes me happy ;D**


	7. Why?

**Why?**

**A/N: Im back! Bare with me for this one the Phantom will come in again in the next chappie ok? ;D Enjoy!**

She ran for it, ran as fast as she could fearing that he would finally snap and come after her with his lasso. She stumbled blindly through the dimly lit corridors running into spider webs and shaking them off before reaching the upper levels of the Opera House through the mirror in Christine' s room. She tripped over the doorway and landed hard crying out slightly and picking herself up quickly not daring to look back.

She had just tried to take his mask, why had he reacted in such a manner? The more she thought about it the more she realized her mistake; she should have never attempted to take his only defense from the world. She was curious really; she had just wanted to see what he hid from the world so carefully. Clearly it had been an error she would regret as she ran from the soprano's room and headed towards the staircase.

The place had been cleaned by the workers renovating the place; most of the debris s on the floor had been taken as well making it easier to move around, the dust removed as well. She felt guilty for leaving the Opera House so quickly without it being renovated, but it was either that or risk it with the Opera Ghost, something she would rather avoid at the moment.

She ran into the door of the Opera House with a loud cry, she was being reckless really; her vision was clouded over with tears as she yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind her running outside and slipping on the snow. She fell for second time that day and landed on her back groaning in pain and cursing at the snow as she picked herself up once more. She stood shakily and turned to look back at the Opera Populaire, part of her was screaming to run back and finish what she started, to at least stay till everything was up and running. But the other part kept remembering the murdering gaze the Phantom had thrown her seconds before he told her to get out.

She thought back slightly panting for breath; he had seemed so calm seconds before he snapped. He had actually leaned in slightly to her touch, they had been so close, and she had to go and ruin it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him although she knew it was impossible for him to hear, she turned and ran for the gates diving under a hole that had been dug as she hugged herself, her cold breath showing in the air as she looked around.

Jack lived a couple of streets from the Opera House and without second thought she ran for his house. She glanced back once more at the Opera House before leaving it completely, he would be better off without her anyway.

She left with those thoughts as she ran through the empty streets; the night was on her side shielding her in the shadows from the stray person out this late at night. She reached her destination after a couple of grueling minutes under cold weather as she knocked on the door desperately wishing to be inside and out of sight as soon as possible as the lights flickered on from one of the top windows.

After some agonizing seconds of waiting Jack opened the door rubbing his tired eyes and sighing expecting Lucy to be bothering him again.

"Look I told you already, the freak is up at night it's no use trying to go and get her-" he started before he opened his eyes to look at the person they had been planning to rescue over the past few days. Monica looking up at him teeth chattering as she stood outside his house before being pulled in quickly and into his arms as he closed the door with a slight kick.

She welcomed the warmth of the hug instantly clinging on to him needing more of it as he stood in shock refusing to let her go fearing she would be gone once more. He placed his head over hers as she buried her face in his neck longing for warmth as he sighed in content caressing her black hair.

"How did you-" he started before being interrupted by her soft voice.

"He told me to leave," she replied as he tensed slightly, so he just let her go? He wondered what was going through the Phantom's mind, why hadn't he killed her? She knew he was alive surely that was something that he couldn't allow to leak out. He shook his head, never mind the Phantom, what mattered now was that she was away from that hellhole and back to safety.

"Jack tell Lucy to leave already! We're going to the damn opera house at dawn!" another voice yelled startling the pair as Monica jumped and turned to look at the staircase.

"Whoa…how did you get away from him?" Jack's friend asked as a smile came upon her face, she hadn't genuinely smiled in a long time, except for when the Phantom played his music...the way he became entranced with it, the way his fingers danced across the keys…

Her thoughts screeched to a halt, why was she thinking of the man when she was far away from him? She shook the annoying thoughts away as she let go of Jack slightly and turned to look at the interruption with a smirk on her lips.

"Nice to see you too Logan," she told him as he closed his mouth which had been hanging open in shock. Logan was tall much like Jack with spiked black hair that ended with blood red tips at the end which he did himself. He was well built due to the fact that he was constantly working out; he had grey eyes that could make anyone cower when they locked onto theirs. He had stubble over his cheeks and chin showing that he had no time to shave over the last few days as he ran a hand over his strong jaw in confusion.

All in all he was a good looking man, much like Jack, not that Monica cared at the moment, she was just glad to be free from the Opera Ghost.

"Might as well call Lucy and tell her you're here," Logan told them as he descended the stairs and caught the cellphone Jack tossed at him. After a few moments Lucy picked up on the other line as Monica moved away from Jack and looked out the window. It had started to snow once more, she had made it just in time as a snow storm picked up outside.

Jack standing behind her eyeing her to see if anything had changed with her. She was wearing what the Phantom had given her the first day she had been with him, and that bothered Jack, why was she wearing the Phantom's shirt? It caused something to seethe within him; surely she hated the Opera Ghost by now, so why oblige him and wear his clothing?

"Yeah she's out of the damn Opera House…" Logan's voice echoed in the distance, Monica was blocking out everything around her looking at the snow falling outside and accumulating on the ground, she found herself singing in her head a tune that the Phantom constantly played, she found it strange that the man was on her mind that much. She decide to set him aside and forget, after all she was never going to see him again right?

Her mind being brought back down to earth when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She turned to see Jack looking at her in worry.

"Something on your mind?" he asked her as she shook her head and turned form the window to look at Jack.

"No, look I'm sorry I came over so late and woke you two up…but I didn't know where else to go and my house was too far from here and it was getting late and-" she ranted on and on until Jack calmed her placing a finger over her lips as she looked up at him, she found it rather strange that she wasn't blushing with such a gesture.

"Hey, calm down ok? We got your back, your safe no one can harm you," he told her brushing a strand away from her face and looking directly at her, again she failed to blush. She simply nodded and looked down.

"You can stay here over the night, in the morning we'll drive you over to your house deal?" he told her as she looked up at him, he was handsome sure but something was missing, something wasn't right.

After getting some new clothes, well a shirt at least from Jack he left her to sleep in his room heading downstairs to stay on the couch. She thanked him for the millionth time as he closed the door behind him as she slipped out of the Phantom's shirt and out of the black leather pants and boots. She pulled over Jack's shirt and got on the bed lazily. It felt different from the swan bed where she had stayed over the past days, she felt like she was sleeping on a cloud when she was with the Phantom.

She didn't know what he had used as a material for the bed but it certainly felt different from the beds they had today. She groaned slightly tossing and turning several times not finding her place as she lay completely still and looked out the open window to the grey sky outside.

She sighed softly thinking of her last moments with the Opera Ghost; it had felt so nice to have him finally show another side of him, for him to accept her touch. She sighed once more once she remembered her mistake and the events that followed after.

"Some way to repay you, eh?" she said out loud thinking of him before she finally found it in herself to sleep without the lullaby of the organ. She tossed and turned several times over the night never sleeping soundly and waking up several times.

She woke to an alarm…but not to the Angel of Music playing his piano. No, this was different, Jack was shaking her slightly completely dressed and waiting for her. Logan stood behind him looking down at her in amusement as well as she got up and rubbed her eyes while stretching slightly. The bright rays of sunlight flooding through the window making her eyes wince, she was so used to the dark of the lair by now that seeing sunlight was painful.

She changed into the same outfit that she had arrived in much to Jacks disappointment and rage, the damn Opera Ghost would pay if he ever saw him again. They got in the car neither of them saying much the whole way there as they finally arrived at her house.

She reached under the welcome mat for her spare key as she opened the door, she wasn't greeted by loving parents or siblings, instead her Rottweilers bounded towards her barking and wagging their stumpy tails in excitement as she smiled brightly at them. Her house was bigger than the living places of most that was all due to her aunt being filthy rich and taking a liking to her. Her parents had died a year ago and her brothers had all moved out leaving her alone in Paris.

She didn't mind really but it did get rather lonely sometimes, of course she had her two dogs for that, Alucard and Dante, the names were rather amusing to her seeing how they were both two of the things she loved the most, but that was a story for another time.

She turned to look back at Logan who leaned on the side of the car twirling the keys in his hand as he looked up at her and winked teasingly, the man could make any woman melt with that look; it annoyed him that she was immune to his charms.

Jack stood at her doorway waiting to bid her farewell as she walked over to him and leaned on the doorway.

"I'll check in with you later ok? Lucy will drop by later to see how you're doing," he told her as he leaned in and kissed her quickly pulling back and walking back to the car where Logan was waiting for him. Monica felt nothing with the kiss, she should have at least felt something, and yet her emotions were blank.

She closed the door and leaned on it after they left sliding down with a sigh as her two dogs trotted over to her and each placed they heads on her lap in sympathy. They knew when something was bothering her and now was one of those times.

"Shhh, I'm fine baby don't worry about me," she cooed at one of them once they whimpered at her as she scratched them behind their ears as they bounded up once more and sprinted all over the house earing themselves a smile from their owner. They always shad their ways to cheer her up that never failed, as she walked up her stairs towards her room she got the feeling that it would be a long week.

She took a shower and changed into more comfortable clothes and fell back on her bed, both of her dogs bounding up on it as well and settling at the foot of the bed as she fell into a deep sleep, not as peaceful as before when she had been at the Opera House but peaceful nonetheless.

She woke the rest of the week in the same manner, a frown on her face upon failing to hear the music of the organ flooding through her mind. She sighed as she dragged herself out of her bed and headed towards the bathroom.

It had been over a week since the whole incident at the Opera Populair and she was trying to forget it still. She ran a hand through her hair pushing it back as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"God you look awful," she told herself sighing and looking back down deciding on heading out for a while, staying indoors wasn't helping her forget nor was it helping her calm her tense nerves.

She walked over slowly to her wardrobe and changed without really thinking where she was going or what she was going to do. She was dressed all in black, black vest over a white shirt, black skinny jeans and boots, a black fedora topping the look off. She sighed not really bothering to look at herself as she walked out of her house and headed downtown.

She took the long way to get there and she arrived just as the sun was setting, she cursed herself for living so far from the city but at the same time she was thankful, she could get away from all of the noise and lights.

She parked and got out of her car as she walked along the streets looking at shops through their clear glass windows and at the couples that passed by hand in hand smiling at the gift of simply being together.

Monica sighed and tipped her hat a little lower, "Paris…the city of love," she whispered to herself before a scowl appeared on her expression. The city of love and there she was alone looking for something to get her mind off of things.

She pulled out her phone and checked the time as she started to walk once more before ramming straight into someone; she stepped back and dropped her phone due to the collision. Someone caught it however before it even hit the ground as arms steadied her before she too lost her balance and fell. She looked up and instantly recognized the man.

"Well what a coincidence mademoiselle," he told her tipping his own hat to her as she smiled for the first time in a while, it was the head renovator at the Opera House, she had gotten to know him well in her time there.

"I believe this is yours," he told her handing her phone back to her as she took it grateful that it wasn't broken, "I was just on my way to a magnificent café a couple of blocks from here, would you mind accompanying me?" he asked as she thought about it. She had nothing better to do anyway.

"Of course," she told him taking the arm he offered to her as she walked side by side with him through the streets of Paris, the sun now set. They arrived at the café and Monica couldn't believe she had never been there. As soon as they walked in the strong scent of coffee hit her nose as she took a deep breath simply enjoying it as they walked over to the farthest table and sat in the corner, a small blonde waitress walking over in joy to take their orders.

"I must confess the men have certainly missed your company mademoiselle," he told her looking up to her as the waitress came over to them again and gave them their orders. Monica looked up to the renovator as well, Nikolai, she recalled now as she remembered his name.

"Sorry about that….let's just say that I'm not welcome there anymore," she told him sipping her coffee feeling it burn her lips and run down her throat as she looked outside at the snow on the sides of the sidewalk and on the rooftops.

"Ah I see, that explains why you have stopped playing your music," he told her as she choked on the coffee and nearly spit it out. She put the cup down and coughed lightly as Nikolai looked at her with concern.

"Are you ok mademoiselle?" he asked her as she finished her coughing fit and looked up at him.

"I'm fine thank you, what was that about my music?" she asked him shifting in her seat slightly uncomfortable now as he leaned back in his and recalled where he had left of.

"Oh yes, well ever since you were last there, the music that used to play in the Opera House stopped," he told her as she shifted once more and pretended not to have too much interest in the subject, she motioned for him to continue with a nod, "the men recalled you had told them it was a CD player you had downstairs, we tried to find it again since it brought peace to them when you played but we never found it, we figured you had taken it," he told her as she nodded again.

She reached for her cup of coffee and drank it once more before looking up at him with a controlled expression, "my apologies if my leaving upset some of them…" she told him in deep thought keeping her expression blank, "tell me this…how long has it been since I last played anything at all?" she asked him.

He sighed thinking back before answering, "A week or so," he replied as she felt her blood run cold. It had never been her who played, nor had it been a CD player. It had always been the Phantom who played on the organ every time she went up to help the renovators. He played throughout the day and didn't stop until she got back.

He hadn't played in over a week, and that was horrifying to her. If there was something she had learned from the man was that he always played on his organ, he couldn't go a day without playing it…but week? What the hell was wrong with him?

"Have you found anything out of place in my absence?" she asked again playing with her cup as the renovator looked at her again, he could sense concern in her voice but thought otherwise as he thought back once more.

"The men found that a pillar in Box 5 is hollow, but we recalled you saying not to touch anything in that box so we left if alone, we also found dead rose petals on the stage…other than that, I fear we have found nothing more mademoiselle," he told her as she nodded and leaned back in her chair as well.

"Are you having anything else this evening miss?" the waitress asked as she stood behind Monica who jumped slightly at the blonde's voice. She looked down to her coffee cup and noticed she had already finished it. She shook her head at the waitress as the blond nodded and walked away.

Dead rose petals…dead.

Monica stood abruptly for her seat startling Nikolai who sat across from her and jumped at the sudden movement from the girl he had come to know over the last days.

"I-I have to go," she told him pulling out her wallet and placing some money on the table as she started to leave only to stop to his voice calling after her.

"Will you be coming back?" he called after her as she turned to look at him slightly.

"Perhaps," she replied waving goodbye as she rushed out the door and headed over to her car. She got in and drove over to the Opera House. Upon arriving she pulled up just outside the main gates and stared at the monumental building, everything looked dark inside, the lights were all off.

She knew he was inside, the nerve of the man to stop playing. He never stopped playing. As for the rose petals, he probably left them there to scare the renovators off…not that it had worked. Her mind had a million scenarios going on explaining the Phantom's strange behavior.

Was he sleeping enough? Was he eating enough? Had anyone discovered his hiding place? Had he tried to scare anyone away yet? Was he alright?

All of those thoughts halted as Monica bit her bottom lip and stared at the Opera House debating whether she should risk her own life to go in and see if the Opera Ghost was alright, or ignore him and his strange behavior…he would be alright in a while right?

She turned her car off but remained inside debating with herself, should she really risk provoking him with the mere sight of her again? Surely he wouldn't be too glad to see her…but the thing that got her to worry, the thing that got her to drive all the way to the Opera House was something more important than that….he wasn't playing his music.

That reason and that reason alone got her to get out of her car…and it was for that reason that she descended the Opera Populair to look for the man she couldn't get out of her mind….

**REVIEW! Dont you bastards dare put it on alert or favorites without reviewing...it gets on my nerves and you make me cry ;D so dont do it...or else :D**


	8. Angel

**Angel**

**A/N: Writers block guys...big time D: Not my best chappie but next one should be good, promise ;D Enjoy!**

Everything within the layer was quiet, not sign of movement or life whatsoever. The Phantom lay on his bed unmoving giving no indication that he was alive. His pitch black room showed lack of attention, the candles had long ago extinguished. The roses resting on his chair had withered and died, the ink he had spilled over his notes had long dried centuries ago.

The bed, on which its owner currently lay sprawled on, had its black silk sheets hanging on the side touching the ground, something that bothered the Phantom to no extent. Nevertheless there he was, still as the gargoyles perched outside of the Opera House.

The only indication that showed he was still alive was the steady rise and fall of his chest. Other than that, he would have been considered as dead.

The lair showed signs of neglect as well, the Swan room remained untouched by the Opera Ghost. He had long ago decided to avoid going in it. The passage leading to his library remained untouched.

The table with all of his music and Operas that he had written over the years was eerily empty; nothing lay on its Brazilian Rosewood surface. One of his mirrors still lay in ruin, the silver shards mixing with the haunting white from his shattered mask untouched since the day he had hurled it at the mirror.

The thing that horrified the most however was his organ; it had a thin layer of dust covering the keys. Something that would simply kill the Phantom to witness. It pipes hadn't produced any music since the day Monica had left…7 days ago.

White sheets of paper floated about on the lake, upon closer inspection one could assume that those were all of his notes, his music; his operas all scattered into the water. The ink had bled through making the sheets difficult to read, not impossible, just extremely difficult.

Several of his candle holders had been knocked about all over the lair making it impossible to see an inch in front of your face. Chairs had been tossed about along with several of his pens and ink bottles.

The door to his room lay shut hidden behind a black curtain making it even harder to find. And if one did happen to come across it and turn the ruby crystal doorknob one would find it not only locked but barricaded as well, no one was getting in.

The Phantom turned over and lay on his back; his metallic blue eyes were cold and unfeeling. His expression blank, once more the only indication that showed he was alive was his slow breathing. His hand tightened brutally on his Punjab Lasso thinking of the event s that led him to the current state in which he found himself in.

He had been foolish to think he could trust her. She had tried to take his mask and that was something that got his blood boiling. The mask wasn't there for entertainment, it had its purpose…and important on at that.

It hid his face, the sole thing that prevented him from having a normal life. It deprived him form the one thing he longed for and would never have, someone to love him. Someone to lead him, to save him from his solitude. Someone to share each day with him, each night each morning. He didn't ask for much, all he wanted was to hear someone say that they cared, that they loved him.

His mind however had already come to the conclusion that he would never have such a thing due to one factor, his face. His own mother never cared for him, never showed a scrap of compassion to him. On the contrary, she took out her anger on him any chance she got.

She drank and blamed him for his father's leaving. God he still bore the scars of her monstrous beatings, they had never left him despite the passing of time.

It was only when he had gotten older that he had the sense to run away…and run away he did. Armed only with a petty piece of cloth to shield him from the mockery of the world he had left the hellhole that had been his home. The Phantom had limped about the streets of Paris, resting when he had the chance to in dirty cold damp ally's, and eating scraps of food he happened to come across.

He had been a child back then and nothing had quite taken the pain away of being alone all of the time. It was only when a carnival of gypsies had come to town that things took a turn for the worse.

He had been foolish to wander around the grounds when the crowds were thinning to get a better look at a monkey dressed in Persian clothing playing cymbals in cage. Someone had yelled at him to get away from the monkey, he had been so frightened that he snapped around and started to run when he had made the mistake of running into the Devil himself, the ringmaster of the carnival.

The ringmaster had been so interested in the Phantom the moment his eyes had landed on the cloth that he had over his face. He had removed it forcefully after some struggle form the Phantom who just wanted to get away, the weeks of malnutrition taking effect and making him weaker as his cover was taken from him.

The moment the Gypsies eyes landed on the Phantom's face however he saw profit in his little toy, and didn't waste time in forcing him back towards the main tarps of the carnival. He had put the Phantom in a cage despite his struggle and protests and the very next morning out for display.

His hopes of being freed had been raised when he saw his mother amongst the crowd of spectators make her way to the ringmaster who stood to the side eyes on his new attraction, a sadistic smile on his face. After several tense moments and arguments the Phantom felt hot tears stream down his face as he observed the ringmaster give his mother a pouch full of money.

She had never been there to save him or to take him home; she merely wanted to be paid for having her very own flesh and blood exposed to the unforgiving crowds of Paris. His own mother had sold him for a couple of coins.

Each day was hell for the Phantom after that, he had to deal with being locked in a cage like a dog and being ridiculed as one as people spar on him and threw objects at him. He took advantage of it and often kept things they threw at him that he deemed useful, mostly food which he ate before the Gypsies checked on him and took it away. A piece of rope had found its way into his possession as well as he hid it beneath the hay of his cage should he need it in the future.

He did indeed find use for it once he had the man that made his life impossible standing before him in the cage whip in had ready to punish him for not making the money he was supposed to. He had choked the bastard and taken his time with it, despite him being a child still, the months of abuse had built up rage within him which was unleashed in that single moment, giving him strength he never knew he possessed.

Upon fulfilling his task he realized he had to get away from the scene, that is where Madame Giry came in. She had witnessed the murder, she had felt sorry for the boy the day before and had come back to check on him and had now witnessed him killing a human being. She stood frozen at the entrance of the tarp while he had turned to look at her. Upon hearing the rest of the Gypsies closing in she had acted on impulse and pulled him along towards the Opera House where she knew they would never dare look.

He had hid there until they had given up the search, Madame Giry had then offered him a place down in the Opera House for him to stay, she knew nobody ever went down there so he would be safe and away from the unforgiving world above. He had taken that offer and had fashioned a mask out of the various props that had been left out on stage after everyone was gone. After a while he had perfected his half mask which he wore all the time.

Several people had caught a sight of his mask which seemed to appear and disappear suddenly during operas up on the rafters and after on the stage when no one was present. They all thought it was the ghost of a singer who had died in the Opera Populair and it was out of that that his legend was born.

The Phantom of the Opera, that's what they called him. They had spotted him several times up in Box 5 and therefore classified it as haunted. No one bought tickets for it fearing to upset the Opera Ghost who seemed to take a liking to that spot, therefore it had become his own personal place to watch everything that went on in the Opera House.

All of these events and the ones that followed leading to the present where linked to the mask that lay shattered outside. People had made him a legend, but he never wished to be one. All the flashbacks and thoughts however screeched to a halt when his keen hearing picked up a crash that came from the staircase leading down to his lair.

One more fool looking for the famous Phantom no doubt. His lips curled into a sneer as a deep snarl escaped his throat. He sat up painfully on his bed, the lack of food and sleep taking its toll on him and only enraging him further as he took to the shadows, Punjab lasso in hand.

He moved quietly and stealthily thought the labyrinth of tunnels trying to find the source of the disturbance ready to snap the neck of the bastard who dared to wander into his home as soon as he laid eyes on him. He was feeling slightly dizzy; perhaps he should have eaten instead of locking himself in his room for a straight week. He felt like he was he was about to fall over from malnutrition and exhaustion, he couldn't allow himself however to do that with and intruder down in the lair with him.

He hid using the shadows and his dark clothing to his advantage as he heard approaching footsteps, he could feel the anxiousness throughout him begging to feel the constricting force that he used to choke people, begging to snap their necks, begging to hear the pleasing crack that followed.

He waited for the intruder to pass by him, clearly not noticing him as he followed behind, quiet as a ghost…a Phantom. He allowed his hand to shoot out throwing the rope after the intruder satisfied when it wrapped around their neck, a choked gasp reached his ears as he pulled them back towards him wanting to feel the fear running through their veins.

His other hand wrapped around their neck as he spun them around and slammed them up against a nearby wall. His sadistic grin dropping immediately once he saw the face of his latest intrusion. His breath halted slightly and he faltered loosening the Punjab lasso, his metallic blue eyes widening in pure and genuine surprise.

The Phantom could never forget her face, nor would he forget what happened after that. Upon seeing her he knew she was no threat and allowed his body to give in to the needs he had neglected as he swayed in his spot trying to maintain himself standing.

Monica could feel the tears clouding her vision…what had she done to him? He was paler than usual, his beautiful black hair was a mess and she could tell he had lost weight, the bags under his eyes let her know he had been neglecting his sleep as well as she saw him lose control over himself finally.

He swayed one last time before falling forward into her arms as she caught him and struggled to hold him up as she slid down the wall of the tunnel and held him in her hands allowing herself to finally cry upon seeing him in this state holding him close wishing she had never left.

"Angel my soul was weak…forgive me," she sang to him horrified thinking of what would have happened had she taken longer in showing up. She noticed however despite everything that had happened he still wore his damn mask, this time however it was a full one, not his normal half mask. She sighed tightening her grip on him as she beat herself up inside, she was sure of one thing however, she had to get him back to the lair and quick.

She wiped her tears away and prepared herself to drag him back, there was no way she could carry him, hell he was well built and heavy compared to her small frame. She took a hold of him and started to drag him back making sure he didn't slip from her grip.

After a couple of minutes of struggle she finally managed to get him back into the lair and dragged him all the way to the Swan bed and pulled him up on it. She sat next to him and ran a hand through his hair but stopping once his eyes shot open to look over at her.

She pulled her hand back in fear and tensed as his hand reached out to her neck, fearing the worst she closed her eyes thinking he was going to finish the job. Much to her surprise she felt him pull the Punjab lasso off of her; she hadn't even noticed she still had it around her neck.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw him toss the lasso aside with much struggle, she knew why she had been so worried in that brief second that she looked at him, she knew why she had come back when anyone else would have abandoned him. She knew why she had been so worried over him, she knew why she felt nothing towards Jack anymore, she was slowly falling for the Phantom, she just didn't want to admit it to herself.

In turn he stared up at her amazed that she was here, perhaps this was all just a dream…yes that had to be it. Fate was being cruel to him, he didn't deserve to be messed with at the moment and seeing her there caused him to doubt himself…was she real or simply his mind playing tricks on him?

He knew it couldn't be true, no one had ever come back, Christine had fled and never showed her face again. So why should she? Despite this he couldn't help but feel somewhat hopeful that she was real, he wanted to know if this was true or simply and illusion.

He reached out to her, his gloved hand brushing against her cheek as his heart skipped a beat, she was real, he couldn't believe it.

"Why did you come back?" he asked her coldly, his expression blank as her own hand reached up to his and held it.

"Because the Phantom of the Opera never left my mind," she replied with a shy smile as she looked down, he sighed his eyes closing once more as sleep took over his body once more. She smiled knowing he would be alright as she got up and started to leave, the lair needed cleaning…as for the Phantom, she had no idea on how he would react to her coming back once he was back in his full senses…that would have to wait, for now she had her hands full.

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	9. Eyes Like Yours

**Eyes Like Yours...**

**A/N: So sorry for the long update guys! I had horrible writers block, and Im still not pleased with this chapter, it could have been more detailed but I had a huge headache so bare with me ;D Enjoy!**

Monica sighed as she paced around the lair waiting impatiently for its owner to wake. Everything was back in place and cleaned after grueling hours on her behalf, his mirror back in one piece, his mask still in pieces in her possession as she sighed and sat down at his organ and looked at the small white pieces.

She regretted ever leaving him; she had felt trapped at first and longed for freedom. After the brief time she spent with him however she had grown accustomed to him and life down in the lair. She couldn't understand why Christine had ever denied him or the lair, it was truly magnificent.

As for the Phantom, how could anyone say no to those metallic blue eyes of his? Monica found it quite impossible to think like Christine when it came to him, she had come back only for him. She paused slightly…why was she still here? She had made sure he was fine; she had promised herself to leave after she had made sure he could cope without her. And yet she was still there, sitting at his organ once more.

She sighed once more as she looked down at her hands. Bandages stained with blood due to fixing his mirror, she then stared at his mask which lay in ruin and picked up one of the pieces. She rose it up to the level of her eyes and examined it carefully. It seemed to mock her, she had been the reason everything had been in ruin, she was to blame.

She had already ventured out into the lake to retrieve his pieces of music and had taken quite a long time in copying them down onto new paper. The freshly copied pile rested a few feet away as she looked down at her hands again and clenched them trying to ignore the sharp jabs of pain she felt with the slightest movement.

She then frowned upon seeing his quill which she had placed next to the pile of papers, she rose quickly and in a panic as she moved over to it and proceeded to taking the blood off of it before he noticed as she sat back down at the organ and tried to clean it before he woke.

Unknown to her however he had woke a while ago and stood at the threshold of the Swan room eyes fixed upon her panicked form hunched over the organ. His eyes never leaving her form as he approached her silent as ever.

She jumped in horror once she felt someone behind her as she snapped her body around to look up at the famous Opera Ghost who by now had changed into an even darker attire and wore his full white mask. Blue eyes fixed on her intently as she tried to hide the pen from his view as he stretched out a hand demanding the object she was hiding.

"I'm sorry…" she began as she stretched out a shaking hand with the quill in it as he took it from her and examined it carefully. He saw almost immediately what she had been trying to hide form him, his attention turning to her as a blank expression settled onto his face.

Blood had been smeared on the grip of the pen and he distinctly remembered it didn't belong to him. His eyes narrowed dangerously as she tensed, surely an everlasting lecture would follow on how she should never touch his belongings without his permission.

Instead he crouched in front of her and held out his hand expecting her to give him something. She rose a questioning eyebrow at him not following along as she shook her head not understanding.

"Your hand," he demanded in a stern voice as she jumped slightly and doubted herself…was coming back really a good idea after all? She hesitantly reached out her left hand and gave it to him as he looked down at it in slight rage. She had purposely given him the un-bandaged one hoping he would fall for it and dismiss the subject. Sadly he was a master of deception; he had long ago caught on and resisted the urge to laugh at her simple plan of fooling him of all people.

"The other hand," he demanded a little more agitated than before as she took her left hand back and hesitated even more as she stretched out her right hand and placed it in his as he confirmed his guesses. He turned it over to look at her palm which was cut up and smeared with dry blood as he stood and motioned her over to him. She walked over to the edge of the lake on which he stood over, the same exact ledge she had fallen off of. She mentally made a note to pay him back for it, of all the places he could have picked it just had to be this one…coincidence? She didn't think so.

She sat down next to him as they both looked out at the glossy surface of the water, a light fog creeping over it as she jumped slightly when he took her hand in his once more. Something was different this time however, he wasn't wearing any gloves, they had been folded neatly on his lap as she tilted her head slightly.

She stared down dumbfounded when he pulled out a piece of white cloth and dipped in into the lake with all the grace of the world. The elegant bastard. She didn't have much time to tease him about it however when he undid the messy bandage around her hand and started to clean the cuts on her hand. She sat there in silence amazed that he was even doing this for her. She hissed in pain when he cleaned a particularly deep cut just above her wrist as he paused slightly before continuing more carefully than before.

"You really don't have to do this…" she told him shyly breaking the silence between them as his eyes glanced up at hers. Her breath caught in her throat the moment she looked at him, why she had left in the first place completely slipped from her mind.

He in turn stared up at her eyes and saw a range of emotions flash through her eyes, she was too innocent sometimes and that seized to amaze him. He had looked around the lair when she had been trying to clean his pen. She had bothered in rewriting all of his notes and operas, that alone must have taken its toll on her. He had seen the way in which she cleaned his organ, she had taken her sweet time in cleaning every key carefully and gently as if would break with the smallest form of pressure.

He admired that in her, never had anyone done something like that for him. His candle holders had all been placed back in order and the candles which had long ago burned out replaced by new ones. He then turned his attention back to her…why would anyone come back to him after he showed a less pleasant side of him? He pondered that question for a while.

He broke eye contact with her just as she was about to ask something and looked down at her hand, it was his fault that it was cut up. Had he not broken the mirror she wouldn't have had the urge to go and fix it. By the looks of it she had tried to piece back his mask to no avail.

"I take it you learned to never attempt to fix a broken mirror after this little incident," he told her, motioning to her hand. But she wasn't paying attention to her hand whatsoever by now. His voice, it had been a week since she heard his voice. It had a tune only angels could match and it drew her in unlike anyone or anything in her world.

The pain she had once felt due to the cuts was fading as he applied something to the wounds, she forgot to ask what it was due to her being transfixed in the way he moved his hand. Nevertheless it burned for a little before he started to wrap her hand back up with a clean bandage taking his time in doing it properly this time. He finished after a moment or so as he reached for his gloves and placed them back on and stood stiffly as he left her there staring after his form as he took a seat on the organ and paused slightly.

She paused slightly hoping he would play something, anything really. Her heart skipped a beat once he played the first notes flawlessly, the sad melody flowing and vibrating through the lair as she looked down at her hand and then back up at him. She got up slowly and winced as she walked over to him like she had done the first time she had ever heard him play.

She stood behind him watching him play for a while; he amazed her to no extent. Truly he was an angel of music. Christine had nailed that part, if only that part.

"You need to teach me how to play like that someday," she commented as he stopped playing at the sound of her voice so close to him. Like always his music had drawn him away from the world, so far that he failed to notice her presence behind him. He stood slowly and moved away from the organ as she looked at him questioningly as he stood behind her.

"Sit," he told her calmly motioning over to the organ as she gulped nervously. She eyed him slightly to see if he was messing with her, yes that had to be it, "Child I will not repeat myself…now sit," he ordered as she scurried over to the organ and sat down obediently. She regretted ever opening her mouth as she glanced at the keys before her wondering what he wanted of her.

"Place your hands on the keys," his voice commanded from behind her as she obeyed without hesitating, it was as if she was under a trance of some sort, one that only his voice could cause. His gloved hands reached out and placed themselves carefully on top of hers as he pushed down guiding her through a simple melody. She soon became entranced by the tune coming from the organ as she leaned her body back against his as he leaned forward slightly into her form as well still guiding her hands as he closed his eyes slightly feeling the notes flow through him.

Both of them unaware of what the music was doing to them as he moved closer to her unaware of the effect that the organ had on him as she moved forward allowing him some space to place a knee on the back of the chair for balance as he leaned into her while she responded accordingly and moved back into his comforting form. She sighed in content unaware of the close proximity in which they both found themselves in before they were startled back into reality.

A huge crash from upstairs made the Phantom snap out of his daze as he stopped playing and lifted his hands from hers and noticed she was leaning back into his chest. She too woke from her trance as she felt him pull his hands away and a warm body pressed up against her back. The blush that settled on her face was inevitable as her cheeks flushed a deep shade of crimson when she felt him slowly back away from her.

"The renovating fools must have arrived," his voice told her as she nodded refusing to look at him and instead diverted her gaze down onto her lap which suddenly became interesting to her as she fiddled with her hands and the bandages he had wrapped around her right hand.

"I…I suppose I should head upstairs to make sure they don't run into anything that is to be kept hidden," she told him getting up abruptly from the organ and walking over stiffly to the curtain which held the passage leading to the upper levels of the Opera House.

She paused slightly as she heard his voice calling to her just before she disappeared behind the curtain.

"Your lessons will not be interrupted again by those fools, make sure you come back as soon as you can afford to leave those incompetent idiots," he called after her as a shy smile crept up on her already flushed face.

"Oui Maestro," she called back already waiting for the chance to come back to the lair where the Phantom of the Opera no doubt awaited for her sitting at his organ with those beautiful metallic blue eyes of his.

**REVIEW OR I SHALL PUNJAB LASSO YOU ALL ;D**


	10. Bitter Kisses and Shattered Memories

**Bitter Kisses and Shattered Memories**

**A/N: So here it is! The flashback is all in Italics so dont get confused my dear readers! ;D Here it is and enjoy!**

"_Why is it that hate comes out so easily…and yet love gets trapped inside?"_

"Ah mademoiselle good to have you back!" Victor called out upon seeing Monica emerge from behind a rack of old dresses. She stumbled slightly as she pushed the large mass of dresses aside trying to get through. She squeaked slightly when the weight of the dresses was too much as it pushed her back while a cloud of dust rose up from the rack.

Victor chuckled slightly as he walked over and pushed the costumes aside. He found her sitting on the ground covered in dust. She scrunched up her nose slightly and then sneezed quietly before he offered his hand once she was done and pulled her up on her feet.

"I owe you one Victor," she told him rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment before glaring over a rack of dresses that stood a few feet away. Several of the renovators paused when they caught sight of her and nodded their heads in acknowledgement as she passed by with the head renovator when he showed her around. Their progress during her absence was remarkable to say the least.

The entrance had new door upon it already, the main room had been finished as well, the carpeting from the stairs replaced, the statues and ornaments cleaned and repolished a golden glow surrounding them. The walls held a new coat of paint, a dark crimson. The floor had been cleaned meticulously and waxed till you could see your own reflection. The paintings had been cleaned as well and placed in the same way they had been, furniture burnt beyond recognition had been replaced by exact replicas.

The curtains hanging from the crystal windows had been replaced as well with new ones and tied into place with golden rope. The moment Monica had walked in she could almost picture herself in the time when the Opera House had been in its prime. She frowned wishing she could have seen it, wishing she could have lived during that time period.

She was pulled from her fussing as Victor directed her from the entrance to the main stage. Its chairs were being worked on still being cleaned, some having to be replaced as an endless sea of red velvet greeted her eyes. A nearby worker passed carrying a large roll which he set down and kicked.

It unrolled down the aisle all the way down to the stage, it was then that it hit Monica; it had been the carpet that went in the middle of aisles. She turned her head towards the various statues around the stage and balconies and found them restored to their original glory. Her mouth opened at the pure beauty of the ceiling paintings, angels to be exact as they were being redone by one of the renovators who moved the brush with ease over the paintings.

What caused her the most shock however was the chandelier, it had been restored as well, the shards that had been missing or broken replaced as it hung from the majestic ceiling, despite it being off it seemed to give light to the room.

"I love it!" Monica exclaimed in joy as she turned her gaze onto Victors, her eyes wide with joy and amusement at seeing everything back to its previous beauty. It was overwhelming and she couldn't contain herself as her eyes wandered everywhere simply amazed at the detail these men put into everything.

"I'm glad you do mademoiselle, we were hoping we would not disappoint you," Victor told her as she turned to look at him with a smile that seemed to make his day. He could see the kid within her begging to run around and see what else they had done but he held back on giving her such liberties, some parts of the Opera House were not yet ready and he wanted it to be a surprise.

"We found something…I planned to mention it earlier but you seemed….distracted by the changes," he told her as he motioned over to the new stage, dark floor boards beckoning to her as she tilted her head in an confused puppy dog look before he chuckled slightly, "it's on the stage, I made sure no one else looked through it, it seems…the Phantom was real," he told her before walking away to help a renovator who was struggling with a chair. She gazed over at the stage in slight panic, he had not seen the pure look of shock when he had walked away, and it was for the best that he had missed it.

Her eyes trailed over to the stage, what had they found that was so important? She decided to check it out as she walked over but quickly found a predicament to her situation.

The stage was clearly high off the ground and impossible for her to pull herself up onto it. She huffed in agitation slightly, she wasn't going to let a stage get the better of her…but how could she possibly get up on it without having to go around backstage?

She glared at it once more before she felt a pair of strong arms on her waist lifting her as she gasped slightly and took the ledge of the stage and pulled herself up with the help of said arms on her still. She finally got on as she turned to look at the person bold enough to do something like that to her.

She nearly fainted in shock once she saw who it had been and uttered a gasp of panic while her whole body tensed visibly.

A coy smile met her horrified frown, onyx eyes locked with brown. The blood red spikes in his hair seemed to glow eerily in the dimly lit room. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and his infamous 'I caught you in the act' look placed on his handsome features.

"L-Logan?" she stammered as she tore her eyes from his and looked around starting to hyperventilate with panic written all over her features. If Logan was here Jack wouldn't be far behind.

Logan frowned upon seeing this, he knew she was looking for Jack…but what had he told her if she looked this horrified of him?

He quickly pulled himself up on stage without problems and ran over to her side.

The Phantom who currently found himself up on the rafters of the stage frowned deeply upon seeing his muse in such distress; he would kill whatever caused her such discomfort without hesitation. She seemed rather pale now that he really examined her from his vantage point up above everyone.

He had his cover due to her arrival once more; no one would dare look up when she distracted the renovators with her presence once more. It was the perfect spot to keep an eye on her to make sure nothing happened to her.

"Hey…he's not here; he doesn't even know were here calm down…." Logan told her stressed now that she looked worse than before, the color had drained from her flush face, her hands started to shake slightly as her pupils dilated the panic in her expression only increasing by the moment.

Several men threw worried glances over at her as well before she shook her head struggling to remain conscious battling with her desire to simply close her eyes and forget about the world around her. Her hand reaching up to her throat as she struggled to breathe tears streaming down her face in fear, not only for her but for the Phantom.

She could almost see Jack standing there like he had done the night before the memory of it still in her mind. His emerald eyes burning into hers, it was the first time she had ever seen him that mad. It horrified her to no extent. She could only imagine the Phantom with that look; no…she didn't even want to picture the Opera Ghost raging at her or anyone else. The memory of it swam through her mind as her vision turned blurry and dizziness started to flood her senses.

_Monica sat on her couch, the dimly lit living room giving a nice cozy feel to the house as her two dogs bounded up to her and settled on either side of her stumpy tails wagging furiously. She smiled nonetheless and scratched on of them behind the ears as the other whined in the lack of attention he was receiving from her. _

_Before she could do anything however sharp knocks came from her door causing her to nearly jump out of her skin, it was too late for even Lucy to show up, who could it be? _

_She felt a rush, what if it was the Phantom? She quickly dismissed the thought, it had been over a week and she hadn't heard of the Opera Ghost since. She frowned slightly and got up from her couch, her feet barely making a sound as she walked over to her massive wooden door and silently wished no one would visit her, she didn't want to put up one more fake smile to pretend she was fine. She truly wasn't, something was missing but she couldn't quite place it. _

"_Who is it?" she asked quietly as a sigh came from the other side in reply. She leaned on the door curious now before a male voice answered back. _

"_Who do you think? The Boogeyman?" Jack's voice replied sarcastically. She sighed even more as she opened the door and stepped aside as he shivered in the cold of winter and hurried in to the warmth of her house._

_Out of all the people she didn't want to see he was certainly one of them. She had grown somewhat distant from him and that didn't go unnoticed by him as well. Her dogs, Alucard and Dante, jumped from their spots on the couches to sprint over to greet him bounding on him and barking in joy. _

"_Its late Jack, what brings you out here?" Monica asked snapping her fingers, in an instant both of the dogs stopped their greeting and sat at her feet obediently. Jack then turned to look at her, cheeks and nose red from the bitter cold outside as a sheepish grin settled on his features. _

"_Surprise!" he told her as he pulled out a rose from behind his back and held it out for her. Her lips threated to betray her fake façade as they dipped slightly but then pulled themselves up into a smile the next instant. She took the rose from him still smiling and held it up to her nose. _

_It smelled divine, in that instant she could smell the river down in the lair, the everlasting sea of candles, the ink, the fresh sheets of music lying around carelessly. She pulled the rose from her nose instantly shattering the image of the lair and the Phantom that had been evoked with it. That haunting white mask gleaming eerily in the center of the stage looking at her accusingly, she had left him. She had left…_

"_Thank you," she told him as best she could without breaking down, she wanted to go back. She wanted to sleep on the Swan bed once more, to wake to the organ, to see the Opera Ghost. She wanted the impossible. _

"_You don't like roses?" Jack asked upon seeing a slight frown form on her face her eyes fixed intently on the rose before her, pale fingers caressing the petals as her glossy eyes looked up from the flower and locked with his. _

"_No..it's not that," she reassured him as he nodded and proceeded to taking off his leather jacket and tossing it over the edge of one of her black sofas while he flopped down on them with a heavy sigh. He hadn't slept well that week either, he felt like the moment he let his guard down the damn monster would crawl out of its hiding place and drag her back with him. He wouldn't not allow her to be taken by him again, it had happened once. It would never happen again. _

_He motioned over for her to come and join him, like an obedient pet she followed his orders and walked over to him, rose still in hand as she started to walk past him to sit beside him. However he had other plans, his arms wrapped around her waist while pulling her down onto his lap. She made no objections and allowed him to have things go his way for once. _

_He pulled her closer while leaning forward as his breath danced across her neck as he breathed in slowly. She was his and his only, any other bastard who was stupid enough to look at her had gotten a punch to the face and he reveled in the thought of her belonging to him. _

"_I missed you," he whispered into her ear as she stared blankly at the blazing fire, flames dancing around capable of consuming anything in their path. One of his hands snaked up to her hair as he played with it pleased with himself. _

_Her dogs however stayed away from the couple on the couch, they could feel the tension coming from Monica, and the way her eyes held no emotion whatsoever only increased their worry. Something was bothering their owner but being dogs they could only watch and do nothing. _

"_I've been thinking of going down to the city soon," Monica told Jack turning her face away slightly from his hand when he tried to touch her cheek. He frowned almost instantly; she knew he wasn't going to be pleased with hearing her thoughts. _

"_I don't want you anywhere near the Opera House much less the city where that rat might be hiding waiting to take you back," Jack growled into her ear as his grip on her waist increased slightly making her tense. This was not going according to plan but she was past the point of no return. She turned her body to look at him and nearly flinched when she met his eyes. _

_They were storming and full of hate, something that got her skin crawling. She didn't know what he was capable of nor did she wish to know. _

"_It's not like I'm going to go and get myself kidnapped Jack," she shot back defensively as his eyes narrowed dangerously and his grip turned into and iron one, she struggled to move away as his raging eyes locked with hers finally. _

"_He could take you back, and we would never find you, is that what you want?" he barked back at her as she winced slightly at the grip he was applying and squirmed slightly in his grasp. His face had lost all trace of compassion and love; instead it only bore hate and resentment. _

"_I feel like an animal locked inside of a cage with a view of the outside world, being so close and yet not being able to enjoy the feeling of fresh air!" she yelled back tears forming on her eyes as Jack released her suddenly aware of the force he was using to hold her in place as she backed away from him defensively. _

"_Please tell me this has to do with __**him," **__Jack told her eyes flaring up even more as he towered over her cowering form beneath him clutching at a pillow that had been on the couch. He had sensed her growing distant from him; he had prayed that it had nothing to do with the hold that the monster held over her. He could feel his fury taking the better of him, his shoulders were hunched dangerously and his fists were clenched tightly, knuckles turning white. _

_She hesitated in answering him and that's all it took to send him over the edge. _

"_He is a monster Monica! How dare you even think of him now that you are free from that…that…thing!" Jack thundered at her as she flinched once more and shrunk under his gaze. She clutched the pillow tighter to her weak form on the couch and felt the hot tears streaming down her cheeks. _

"_What has he offered you that I can't give? You are still under his influence that I can guarantee! Look at you! You look worse than when you got here, he's affecting you let him go he is nothing but an animal who hides underground! Wake up from this nightmare for both our sakes!" he yelled all while pacing around the room furiously before he stumbled over one of the dogs that lay near the fire earing himself a yelp from the Rottweiler who scurried out of his way but not before receiving a kick out of Jack to the stomach. _

_That was enough for Monica to snap as well. _

"_Stop it!" she yelled weakly as she ran over to her dog and cradled it as it lay whimpering in her arms. She stared up at Jack, pure loathing emanating from her piercing glare as her tears continued to flow freely from her face. She held her dog close to her and refused to meet his gaze once more as she tried to comfort it by petting it and whispering praises into its ear. _

_Jack then pulled her away from her dog with a fierce tug as he forced her to stand in front of him. _

"_Do not defy me, don't even think of going out of this house without someone I know accompanying you, and don't you dare go near that damn hellhole of an Opera," he hissed at her as she winced under the grip he was applying to her arms and looked down refusing to meet his eyes. _

"_As for that __**freak**__, I'll find him…I'll find him and make him pay for kidnapping you," he warned her as he shook her forcing her bloodshot eyes to look at him in horror, "If I find out you were anywhere near that Opera House, I'll kill him…and make sure you never think of defying me ever again, am I clear?" he spat at her as she whimpered slightly when he shook her outraged again at her ignoring him. _

_She finally tore her eyes away from her cowering dog in front of the fireplace and landed a cold gaze on him. _

"_Yes I understand," she told him in a monotone voice as he realized that he had been grabbing her a little too tightly and released his hold on her almost instantly. He instantly calmed down and rose her chin with one of his hands. _

"_Hey babe, I'm sorry I got out of hand…I'm sorry," he whispered to her as she refused to meet his gaze when he took her hand and kissed her knuckles slowly. _

"_I'm sorry baby you know I would never hurt you," he continued as she drowned out his voice, all she could hear was the organ back at the Opera Populair. He pulled her in for an embrace but all Monica could think of was his outraged expression seconds ago. _

"_I gotta go, I'll come by tomorrow and make it up to you ok? Goodnight babe," he told her as he pulled her in for a kiss. Monica didn't even bother as he pulled away with the same sheepish grin from before and started for the door. _

_The resounding click when he closed it relieved her nerves somewhat. She walked over to her dog and collapsed in front of it finally releasing what she had been holding back since he got to her house. She picked herself up still a crying wreck as her shoulders shook violently with the force of her sobs. _

"_I won't be here tomorrow you bastard…" she whispered after him as his once fond memories faded form her mind only to be replaced by her fear of him and most importantly his rage. She needed to feel safe, to be comforted by something or someone. She picked herself up and dragged her shaking form to her bed and collapsed on it. _

_She cried herself to sleep setting her mind on one thing and one thing only. As soon as she woke she would go over to the Opera Populair no matter what Jack said. She needed to see __**him, **__to hear his music, but most of all she wanted to warn him of Jack. _

_Her heart couldn't bare losing someone like __**him**__ to one of his jealous rage fits ever again…_

Her body snapped back into reality from the sudden flash back. Her vision went black as she collapsed into Logan's arms while he caught her and frowned in worry.

He sighed as he held her close as two renovators ran off to get something for Monica; Logan sighed and looked at her. She was like a sister to him and seeing her this horrified of something had him seeing red. He would have a word with Jack, after all he had already had one of the renovators move her car from the entrance of the Opera Populair to the back where Jack wouldn't see if he happened to walk by.

His thoughts screeched to a halt when a sudden ruffle of clothing from up top made his eyes shoot up towards the movement as a black cape danced in the darkness of the shadows following after its wearer, a white spec catching his eyes up on the rafters. He shook his head and thought it was his imagination playing tricks on him as he proceeded to waking Monica up and demanding answers.

**Review! There are some of you that refuse to do so and it gets me so depressed! So please for your poor deluded writer's sake...review ;D**


	11. Stranger Than You Dreamt It

**_Stranger Than You Dreamt It..._**

_**Sorry for the short update! But I shall try to upload again either today or tomorrow with a longer chappie, the Italics are the dream...I could possibly do it in real life :D**  
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_Monica groaned holding her head as she sat up slowly looking around. She was alone on the stage of the Opera House, but already she could tell something wasn't right. She distinctly remembered fainting into Logan's arms, but she was alone now. She looked around panicking if only for a second or two. _

"_Phantom?" she called out hoping the Opera Ghost was near, the last thing she wanted was for him to be gone as well. She didn't even know what was going on; she needed someone to comfort her. To at least explain what happened and where everyone was. He didn't disappoint her either. _

"_Why are you up here?" his voice replied echoing throughout the stage sending chills down her back. Her breathing suddenly became louder; the silence seemed to mock her as the statues stared down at her gleaming in the darkness. It was starting to smother her; she stood up slowly and looked around. _

"_Where are you?" she called out again in a shaky voice as she looked everywhere to no avail. Again silence seemed to surround her. _

"_Exactly where you left me," he shot back his voice suddenly took a darker tone with her as she shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. _

"_I don't understand…" she murmured before a cackle tore through the silence and caused her to jump slightly. It was Jack. _

_But what was he doing here? _

_What the hell was going on?_

"_You failed your monster," his voice echoed laced with steel as she looked around for him as well only to find that she was still alone. Where were their voices coming from? She walked back away from the edge of the stage as darkness closed in around her, the shadows being swallowed by it and the seats being consumed as well. She could barely see in front of her. _

"_I didn't do anything!" she shouted back at the darkness as his laugh danced all around her disturbing her once more. _

"_Precisely…you did nothing," Jack replied stepping out of the shadows holding the Phantom next to him by the neck. Monica turned to look at them and gasped, this couldn't possibly be happening to her. The air was filled with the unique smell of blood, the metallic odor filling her senses as she watched horrified by seeing the Opera Ghost in such a position. _

_His head was bowed, eyes fixed on the floor beneath him. His arms hung uselessly by his sides, shoulders hunched as he refused to fight the hold Jack had on him. _

"_Phantom…?" Monica asked trying to approach him before Jack tightened his grip on the Opera Ghost's neck earing himself a groan of pain from the other man. Monica shook her head and halted not wanting to cause him further pain, she couldn't understand, the Phantom was stronger than Jack…that much she was sure of. So what the hell was he doing? _

"_You killed him," Jack accused her as he shook the older man violently causing him to lose his balance and stumble forward falling on his knees. His once beautiful blue eyes looked up at Monica pleadingly; she in turn found it difficult to even breathe upon witnessing him in such a state. _

"_I didn't kill him," she whispered to herself as Jack moved forward once more and with a harsh shove of his boot pushed the Phantom down onto the stage. The Opera Ghost going down without a fight whatsoever as he lay pinned down on the ground staring up at Monica, his expression blank. _

"_Murderer!" he thundered at her as he pulled out the Phantom's sword. The blade gleamed eerily, the silver tip taunting her as Jack smiled triumphantly at her and then sneered at the Opera Ghost beneath him. _

"_N-no!" Monica choked pleading with Jack as he looked up at her once more. His piercing glare faltering slightly seeing her tear streaked expression but composing itself almost instantly as he glanced at the blade and then at her. _

_He then brought it down brutally down on the Phantom's chest. The blade disappearing tearing straight through his chest as he gasped in pain and held it trying to pull it out. Monica ran over and brushed past Jack who stood watching the pair with a sadistic smile before disappearing once more into the darkness. _

_Monica collapsed in front of the Opera Ghost who coughed up blood as tears streaked down her cheeks. She held his hand in one of her own while the other caressed his exposed cheek. _

"_This wasn't supposed to happen," she cried glaring at the blade that had taken her reason for living from her. He in turn started up at her, pain etched into his expression as blood pooled around the pair. _

"_You are responsible, this happened because you disobeyed me…" Jack told her, his voice now far away in the distance. She glanced at the blade protruding out of the Phantom's chest with determination. _

_She knew she couldn't save him; it was a direct blow to his heart. Jacks laugh echoed in the distance as she pulled up the sleeves from her shirt to her elbow and looked at the Phantom with determination once more. He saw what she was planning and reached out a blood stained hand to stop her. _

"_Do not be foolish c-child," he murmured to her as she shook his hold off and stared at the blade before running her wrists over it, a searing white pain tearing through her as she severed her veins. Blood pouring out and mixing with his own. _

"_You idiot," the Phantom whispered to her before he let out his last breath. Monica collapsing on his chest from blood loss as she too closed her eyes still holding on to the Phantom with the last bit of strength she had left. She couldn't picture a better way to die. _

_Jack's laugh echoed in the distance, she struggled to keep conscious as he continued to taunt her before she exhaled her last breath. Darkness surrounded her and took her into its cold embrace as she completely succumbed to it. _

"Monica! Monica wake up!" Logan called to her, her eyes fluttered open in shock. It had all been a dream…but it had felt so real. She looked around and noticed she was surrounded by the renovators, she wasn't alone anymore.

"I need to see if he's ok," she whispered looking around in panic. Logan let her go as she rushed out of his arms and broke through the crowd of renovators.

"See if _who_ is ok?" Logan called after her as she paused and looked back at him.

"Just don't tell Jack you found me here ok? I need to go!" she called back as she rushed past renovators and headed down to the lair. She rushed down through the catacombs and finally arrived at the lair. She looked around to find him sitting at his organ; brow raised questioning her early arrival.

Her eyes pooled with tears upon seeing him…alive. She rushed over to him and flung herself around him crushing the air out of the startled Opera Ghost whose elbows were propped up against the organ emitting low notes that resonated throughout the lair.

"You're ok!" she cried hugging him tighter as he tilted his head, why wouldn't he be? Nevertheless he found his arms acting on their own accord wrapping around her small frame and caressing her hair.

"Why would you think otherwise child?" he asked her as she gripped his v-neck shirt and refused to let go, not that he had any objections to it. He welcomed the warmth that she brought with her.

"You left me…" she whimpered, "I was…scared," she admitted, something about him just made her spill out everything without him even asking.

"I would never leave you," he replied without thinking as she pulled away and looked up at him. She adored him, it was impossible for him not to tell with how she looked at him in that brief moment.

She smiled trying to stop the tears from escaping her eyes as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He tilted his head upwards allowing her more freedom. They remained that way for what seemed an eternity, neither of them wishing to break away.

Reality seemed stranger than dreams sometimes…

**Review! :D**


	12. Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

**Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child...**

**A/N: This chapter is a bit dark...and bloody...you have been warned my dear readers~I cant exactly say 'enjoy'...but nevertheless, here it is!**

Monica shifted and woke slowly when she felt her phone start to vibrate against her. She growled irritated and buried her face into the warm and inviting pillow she had. The sounds of the lake soothed her and produced a lullaby to her ears, she struggled to ignore the annoying vibrations and sleep once more.

The world could wait; all she cared about at the moment was sleep, something that she had been depriving herself of lately.

"I believe that was your strange communication device," an angelic voice reminded her, her pillow rumbling as he spoke. She ignored the angel that called to her; the Phantom could wait as well. She hadn't slept this well in ages. She drowned out his voice and snuggled closer to her pillow still making no move to answer.

Her pillow shifted somewhat making her groan and bury her face even deeper.

"Stop moving you stupid pillow," she mumbled before scrunching up her nose upon it colliding with a cold button. Her eyes opened briefly, clouded with lack of sleep, and focused in on and intricate black vest, followed by a tan chest exposed by a V-neck white collar with ruffles.

Her eyes opened a bit more upon realizing that pillows did not have such uncomfortable buttons, nor did they feel so warm, or breathe.

"Imma kill my phone," she mumbled to herself dropping her head against his chest once more and sighing in content as it stopped vibrating.

The Phantom on the other hand could feel his face burning up upon having her so close and not cowering away in repulsion. He hadn't felt like this towards another woman ever since Christine's absence. It seemed like it had been in another lifetime.

He couldn't quite place the feelings she evoked within him as of late every time she smiled at him. Every time she made any sort of contact with him, every time she sat up late with him to observe him play or help him get through a difficult aria. It was something that he couldn't quite place, and it struck something within him, fear was suddenly awakened deep within him.

He knew this would not last; it was all too good to be true. He was a monster, he would always be one, surely he didn't deserve this. She would run if she ever saw beneath the mask, just like everyone else, just like Christine. He couldn't afford another incident like that. His heart couldn't bear it any longer. It had taken his heart too long to get over the soprano who had shattered his very being by abandoning him.

He frowned looking down at her sleeping form; she had run in a while ago crying over his wellbeing. The wellbeing of a beast who didn't deserve to be cared for. He didn't deserve her. She wasn't his….she didn't belong to him, she never would. It pained him to think like this, but she probably had another already. Another Vitcome De Changey to steal her away from him. He grimaced at the thought of it.

His thoughts screeched to a halt once more as he felt her phone start to vibrate again. She groaned, the vibrations of her lips against his bare skin sent a chill up his spine causing him to shift awkwardly in his spot as she too moved against him.

"Imma throw you into the Phantom's lake," she growled referring to her phone in a drowsy voice searching for the annoying device that seemed to be hell bent on waking her. Her hands wandered over his chest briefly before dropping to his waist as if searching for something.

It then hit him: she was looking for her phone. Problem was…she had the wrong body.

He nearly shot out of his seat when her hands traveled lower to check the pockets in his pants getting more and more irritated by the second. She was starting to wake slightly still refusing to open her eyes and fully wake.

She was in a state of comatose as she continued her search before halting abruptly when her pillow uttered a low rumble. Almost purr like.

Her hands found a cold chain as she tugged at it and realized that she was holding a pocket watch. Her eyes slowly opened after that realization. She didn't have such fine pants to begin with or a pocket watch. This wasn't her body.

Her eyes shot open upon her sudden realization. She pulled away suddenly awake and alert, her chocolate eyes becoming confused as she stared up at the Phantom of the Opera. Her face took on a crimson shade, her cheeks flushing wildly.

"Were you not planning on answering that?" he half teased before she nodded and pulled away shyly making him frown at the loss of contact and warmth. He observed her stumble away from him and search for her phone desperately. After a few moments she gave up her search and huffed crossing her arms and pouting upon realizing she was getting nowhere.

"It has been in your back pocket the whole time," the Phantom pointed out not rising from his seat at the organ. Her expression brightened considerably as she reached back and pulled it out before the rich shade of red returned to her cheeks.

"How observant of you," she teased halfheartedly thinking her blush couldn't possibly get any darker. She could have sworn it was her mind playing tricks on her but a very light shade of pink settled on the Phantom's exposed cheek, barely visible. Clearly he had gotten the meaning of her suggestive remark.

She was about to say something else before her phone went off again, whoever it was it was certainly important. She growled and picked up the call putting it on speaker.

"H-hello?" a voice asked sniffling as Monica's playful mood extinguished immediately being replaced by concern.

"Beatrice…what the hell? It's been a while since I've heard from you," Monica replied as the Phantom leaned back on his chair observing her pace through the lair making sure she wouldn't run over things by pointing them out before she tripped.

"It…Its your brother….he's dead," the woman replied as the Phantom's blue orbs shot up to look at his muse who suddenly froze in her spot and halted her breathing, "Monica…did you hear me?" the woman asked, her voice cracking on the other line.

"I-I heard…how?" Monica replied her own voice strained upon hearing the sudden news. She slowly found herself collapsing on the cold ground of the lair near the edge of the lake. The Phantom never tearing his eyes away from her form.

"Rival gang…the Jackals I think," Beatrice replied as Monica chocked back a sob and shook slightly. Her whole world was coming down on her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"The bastards…they've taken everything from me…EVERYTHING!" Monica cried at the phone. Silence followed on the other line before it was replaced by the voice of a child.

"_Fraulein_, Beatrice said I was going to live with you now! She said _mami_ and _vati_ are in heaven now…what does that mean?" a girls voice asked as Monica tensed visibly before replying.

"Kiri…I'll tell you when you get over here _liebe,_" Monica replied trying to level her voice out despite all of the cracking it was doing. The little girl seemed satisfied with that as she handed the phone back to the woman.

"You said they killed my brother, you never said anything about Luna," Monica demanded at the other woman paused before answering.

"She was caught in the crossfire as well…" she replied in a monotone voice as Monica gritted her teeth.

"Crossfire?" she hissed violently tears of rage running down her cheeks, had the woman been present she would have been choked by her.

"They were shot to death," Beatrice replied before a man in the background reminded her of a flight she was supposed to catch soon, "Look, we'll be there in about 4 hours…you're the only thing Kiri has left, your brother always wanted you to take care of her if he was no longer present," Beatrice told her hurriedly, "I wish we would have talked under different circumstances…_auf wiedersehen_," she added before the line went dead. Monica sat there unmoving before the Phantom walked up to her and crouched next to her.

He lifted her chin with one of his gloved hand forcing her to look at him. Tears streaming down her pained face.

"You know it pains me to see you cry," he whispered to her wiping away her tears with his thumb. She looked up at him unsure of herself before his voice brought her back to reality, "now is not the time to be crying _mon ange_, they will need you _ma_ _chérie_," he told her soothing her nerves offering a hand to help her up. She took it after a moment as he led her upstairs slowly not really wishing her to leave, he knew better. She was needed more up there than with him. He could afford to have her away from him...but only for a short period of time.

Monica didn't want to leave either, but Kiri needed her. Dear god she was caring for her brother's only child now. What had he been thinking? He was always reckless…but she thought that would change with the notion of having a child to look after now. He couldn't afford to do anything idiotic, and yet…he had gotten himself killed by their rival gang, just like her parents.

They finally reached the upper levels, the Phantom lingering on the doorway of the trapdoor unable to go further without being noticed by the renovators who were present still. Monica already walking ahead but stopping noticing he wasn't following. She smacked herself knowing he wouldn't or rather couldn't follow after her to the door.

She walked back to him hidden in the shadows, "I will be back," she whispered to him standing on her tiptoes to hug him despite him tensing up not used to contact with her, "I promise I will be back," she whispered to him crying before pulling away and walking away hurriedly.

He watched her leave, he didn't move until she left his eye sight. The days would be longer without her there, lonelier and certainly less entertaining. He wasn't looking forward to not having her by his side. He looked down to his black gloves; he could still feel her hand on his, fire clashing with ice every time he had contact with her. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed clenching his hand momentarily before turning away from the stage and walking away slowly to the life of solitude that awaited him below.

He sighed once more and headed down to the lair missing her company already…

Monica cursed herself once more for leaving the Phantom on such a short notice... She would be back as soon as she possibly could, that much she was sure of. She also cursed at the fact that she lived so far away from the city, from civilization for the matter as she stepped on the gas causing the red Trans Am to roar and speed through the streets.

She didn't take long in arriving due to the break neck speed she had been driving at as she pulled up to her driveway, noticing a single motorcycle parked already. She turned her car off and stepped out, not really alarmed at seeing a motorcycle at her home, she was used to having members of her gang drop by unexpectedly to spend the night at her house. It was no surprise to her; she glanced at it briefly as she passed it, walking slowly enjoying the bitter cold air that rushed at her. The snow being disturbed beneath her feet.

She opened the door and stepped through the threshold astounded by the tension in the air as she entered her own house. She passed her coat rack hanging hers absentmindedly as she passed by and halted and acknowledged her green tree python as she unlatched its cage and pulled it out carefully.

The snake coiling around her arm tensely, black eyes pleading trying to warn her of the inevitable.

"What's wrong? Did Logan forget to feed you guys?" Monica asked bringing the snake to the level of her eyes to get a better look at it. The snake flicked its tongue furiously aware of the fowl aura that stained the air, unlike Monica who frowned and turned to look at the rest of her animals. The snakes were all tense and poised to strike despite the glass impeding them from doing so.

Her grieving eyes scanned each of them; she was in despair already at seeing them so tense and miserable. It was as if something within the house was bothering them. She placed the python in her grasp back into its cage and headed towards her stables to check on her horses.

The moment she entered they all reared and pounded on the ground with their hooves snorting, their nostrils flaring as they bobbed their heads in an aggravated manner.

"I'm going to skin Logan," Monica commented storming outside and back into her house tossing her jacket aside and heading upstairs to her room while calling Logan in the process. It rang several times before he finally answered, as always on speaker.

"Monica! Thank god, I was just about to call you…listen Jack's had a couple of drinks," he paused before continuing, "He stormed out of here a while ago after Lucy called him to inform him she saw you near the Opera House, I hope you're not home, that would be the first place he'd look," he warned her before he hear a thud.

She had dropped her phone upon realizing who was waiting for her in her room. Her eyes widening in surprise and fear. It clattered on the wooden floors, the screen shattering as her skin paled matching the snow outside.

"Monica? Monica!" Logan shouted on the phone as she refused to take her eyes off of the intruder sitting comfortably on the bed.

"Ah, mon amour, you decided to finally come home," Jack teased slurring some of the words, his green eyes narrowing dangerously calculating her every move, " Where have you been?" he asked, all of the amusement that had been there before now gone form the tone he used with her.

"Shit…Is that Jack? Fuck hold on, I'll try to be there as soon as I can…Judas! Gabriel! Voodoo! Get your asses on your bikes, were getting Jack," he ordered before he hung up, her screen going black. Jack eyed it briefly before flicking his eyes back up to lock with hers.

"I was in the city," she replied as he stood from the bed and stretched from the bed like a cat, his bones popping into place as she shuddered trying to desperately compose herself.

"Did I give you permission to go mon ange?" he replied causing something to snap within her.

"I need no permission, from you or anyone else!" she snarled back sneering at him, her chocolate eyes flaring dangerously at him. She was no one's pet, and she could do as she pleased without anyone controlling her. Jack caught on to her change in mood and composed himself briefly and threw his own glare at her.

"You went back to _him?_" He snarled warningly as Monica tensed but recovered instantly, she knew what was coming. She wouldn't show any fear, she wouldn't allow herself to sink down to his level.

"It wouldn't matter what I told you, you'd never listen anyway," she shot back eyeing him carefully as he stepped towards her and began to circle her dangerously.

He was the wolf, eyeing its prey, and she was the poor defenseless rabbit, cornered without a way out knowing the fate it couldn't escape from. She snapped her head away from his attempt to caress her cheek and scrunched up her nose at the foul smell of alcohol that emanated from him. He sneered at her for avoiding his touch.

"You haven't changed, despite the years," he whispered to her half sober, "all these years, and you still refuse to acknowledge the fear that wants to shine through those beautiful eyes of yours, to part your lips and scream for help, to run away from danger," he murmured toying with her hair while standing behind her.

"Your still stubborn and cold hearted…just like Felix, beautiful and strong just like Mercedes," he continued as she tensed upon hearing the names of her parents. She bit her bottom lip and held back unshed tears; he was pulling her strings, knowing how to break her down piece by piece.

"Of course that would explain why they got themselves killed, just like your brother," Jack added snapping her out of her thoughts. Her hands shook weakly from the memoires of their brutal deaths. How dare he use that against her?

"Daddy isn't here to save you, and neither is that monster that has an influence over you," he whispered to her. That was all it took. That was her breaking point.

"You have no right to speak of them like that!" she snarled spinning around despite the death grip he held on her hair. It happened so quickly that his mind barely had time to register what was happening as she brought her hand up and swiped it animalistically across his face.

He let go grunting in pain as she stumbled away from him in shock. He ran a hand across his cheek smearing blood on his face as he pulled back to look at his blood covered hand before turning his death glare onto her. She gasped; he had three scratches running through his left cheek to the bridge of his nose.

"Is that any way to treat the man who loves you?" he hissed wiping more blood away as it descended onto the corner of his lip leaving a fowl taste in his mouth. He grimaced before approaching her temper fuming.

"With devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar on the devil himself," he quoted as she took a brief moment to understand him. He used that brief moment to catch her off guard before backhanding her with such force that her whole world seemed to spin around her. She stumbled and clung to the doorway for support the pain from her stinging cheek blurring her vision with tears.

His quote suddenly became clear to her, despite his reputation she had fallen for his good looks and charming personality, blinding herself from the real man underneath all of that. The true Jack. The one she was dealing with right now.

He stalked over to her not giving her any time to recover from the blow he had given her as he took her hair into his grasp once more and hurled her down the hall as she fell over a lamp pulling on it to regain some sort of balance. She failed however when her legs gave out beneath her dragging her down with the lamp, the light bulb shattering into pieces.

Jack storming over to her and kicking the lamp off of her small frame all the while kicking her in the process as she cried out in pain right before he swung his leg at her again.

Her body skid down the hallway upon receiving the brutal blow to her stomach, she struggled to breathe, her body shaking miserably trying to get up but collapsing miserably. He walked over and kicked her further down the hall as she whimpered in pain barely starting to recover her breath. She noticed she was dangerously close to the top of the staircase; she tried to claw desperately at the wooden floors trying to get away leaving her nail marks on the wood.

Jack approached her as she cried in horror; he stopped next to her at the top of the stairs, "Baby, why are you crying? Aren't you having a blast?" he joked crouching next to her and examining her pained expression. She was beautiful when she cried, even more when she screamed. It gave him great pleasure to be the one causing it.

"J-Jack…p-please," she sobbed clenching on to his leg desperately, her body aching and bruising already. He looked down at her and considered ending her punishment then and there.

No.

She needed to learn, to never disobey him again. He loved her dearly, but there was a lesson to be learned here. He knew she could take his punishment, she was strong, she would be fine.

He rose sighing, and shook her feeble hold on him while turning to stand behind her shaking form. She reminded him of a beaten puppy before its abusive owner, and he loved it. He loved the feeling of control that he held over her.

"Spare the rod…spoil the child," he whispered to her placing a boot on her small waist and applying pressure down on it as she moaned in pain and squirmed trying to get away from him. The sight of her like that sent chills up and down his spine, she couldn't get more beautiful.

He paused slightly, of course she could. He would just have to break her a little bit more. Upon settling on that thought he increased the pressure on her waist until a scream tore through the air, it was music to his ears. She squirmed even more clawing at his leg trying to get away desperately before he relieved the pressure and stepped back admiring the dark bruises adorning her pale skin.

"We've just begun," he whispered to her before kicking her one last time over the same area he had been stepping down on as her body skid over the top step of the stairs and crashed down in a glorious symphony of thuds and cracks.

Jack followed behind descending the stairs slowly admiring the blood splatters on the steps and smiling at the art he had created. He halted as he towered over her, a sadistic smile on tugging on his lips as he stared down at her unmoving form. She lay face down unable to move, she couldn't even scream anymore.

The pain was indescribable, her whole body howled at her in pain and she was unable to even pick herself up. Every breath she took sent a jolt of pain through her body. Her chest felt constricted and she could no longer feel her arms or legs. She briefly registered Jack pulling her up to her feet by gripping her neck.

Her broken nose oozed out blood and made it difficult to breathe as it stained the floors. She could barely make out the living room where he had dragged her into. He tossed her carelessly as she stumbled hopelessly and knocked over a cage before collapsing miserably herself. Glass shattered across the floor catching Jack's attention while he walked over to her. He paused and picked up a shard and continued on his way, crouching once more to examine his broken angel.

Her whole body was a sea of bruises, cuts and surely broken bones. He lifted her shirt to reveal an array of bruises already forming; he traced the glass over them before really applying pressure and drawing blood. He dragged the glass down her right side leaving a nasty gash from her lower ribs to her lower stomach. She no longer registered any pain, but she could feel blood running down her side.

She whined in such a feeble manner that it actually caused him to stop and look at her for the first time. God, she looked dead. Had he really done that to her? HE looked down at the bloody shard of glass in his hand and back up at her with a horrified expression. What had he done? He loved her…he fucking loved her…and he had nearly killed her. What had taken over him? The alcohol? The sleepless nights? Jealousy?

"M-Monica? B-Baby answer me!" he yelled horrified taking her cold trembling hand into his own. She didn't even stir; her chest rose slowly and lowered at an even slower rate. He could tell she was having a hard time breathing. Oh god…what had he done to her? Her body shook weakly, her bottom lip quivered as she choked and coughed out blood sending Jack into a panic attack.

He risked a glance at her face, her nose was broken and her lip cut. Dark bruises were forming there as well. Her once beautiful face was now hidden beneath blood smears and cuts.

A loud hissing noise brought Jack back down to earth as he tensed visibly upon seeing what had caused it. Her King Cobra had reared and extended its good hissing loudly in his direction. He could never understand why she kept such dangerous animals; it was his luck that he had caused this one in particular to escape its cage.

It hissed once more lunging to strike at his hand. He pulled away in fear and let go of Monica before realizing the snake's intentions all along. It wanted him away from Monica, and who could blame it? He had done so much damage already to her frail body. He backed his theory up when he tried to approach her once more only to back away when the snake curled up next to her and hissed loudly every time he got near.

Guilt took over him upon seeing the blood smeared everywhere in her house, and her beautiful body…just seeing it broken on the floor like that caused him great pain. He turned and ran for the door, the green tree python near the doorway lunging at him despite the glass that shielded him. Her Rottweilers barked madly from the basement where he had locked them in when he first arrived.

He stumbled out of the house and ran for his motorcycle, he revved it up and drove as fast as he could to clear his mind, unaware of the four motorcycles he passed while rushing away.

Logan only increased the speed of his bike when he saw Jack rush by as if he'd seen a ghost…although Logan had a feeling he would see one soon if he had laid a finger on Monica.

He stumbled off of his own bike as he rushed to her open door followed by the other three. Upon entering the King Cobra slid away allowing him to get near his fallen angel, broken in a bloody heap on the floor.

"Fuckin' hell…hang in there sweetheart, were gonna get you fixed," Judas murmured moving forward as Logan stood frozen trying to fathom Jack's reason for harming his angel, his friend, his sister. Judas took her into his arms and carefully made his way out of the house passing by the other three who looked after him and stared open mouthed at the state their leader was in.

"I'm going to skin him alive if he dares to show his pitiful self again," Gabriel snarled following after Judas.

"Just wait till Lucifer finds out about this…" Voodoo murmured after him feeling sorry for the fate that Jack had sealed for himself.

Logan stared at the cobra which lay curled in a corner a white spot covering half its face, the rest of its body a charcoal black reminding Logan of something, or rather someone.

"Forget about Lucifer and the rest of us…wait till the Opera Ghost hears of this…" Logan whispered shuddering when thinking of the poor bastard at the hands of the infamous Ghost. Surely the Phantom of the Opera would want the blood of the man foolish enough to harm his muse, or perhaps she was more to him….

Logan could only pray for Jack if that was the case.

**Review :3 let me know what you think so far! I love all of you guys who review!**


	13. Tears of An Angel

**Tears of An Angel...**

**A/N: Tough chapter might I add, but I guess I owe it to all of my wonderful reviewers! Seriously guys...I was like in shock that this story got so much feedback, truly I cried of joy :D Here's the chappie, next one should be better since I had such a hard time with this one, the Phantom will come in in the next one, so dont worry if he isnt in this one my dears! Enjoy!**

** Sidenote to some of you:**

**xXChaoticOrderXx:** I love the emotion behind that, 'U. WILL. DIE!' It made my day ;D

**pidpit:** Glad your enjoying it, and thank you for reviewing the previous chappies ;D I love it when people do that :)

**SexyKnickers:** Oh...dont worry, he'll suffer, alot. ;)

**TwilightxWolfxRena:** Oh dear lord you made me blush :3 Thank you sooo much for all the compliments...I must admit when I first saw the whole 'Hello darlin' I thought I was going to get lectured on how this story sucked and how I should probably stop writing because its all too perfect and good to be true XD but I never expected such an amazing review, the Phantom would be proud :D Hell, I know Im damn proud to have a reviewer like you. Truly. Thank you.

**Ireland Savage:** It all happens for a reason right? And yes she's been through alot, but things will get better...promise ;D

**Clumsy Clouds:** Well, this answers your questions partially, atleast about her brother's child :)

**BANEHiwatari:** I couldnt agree more, to be taken over by things like that...it is truly weak to let your feelings get the better of you and do things like that...glad you understood that he really does love her, but well...rage isnt something easily controlled, and yes...I wouldnt want to anger the Opera Ghost...ever. D: but well, he asked for it ;D

"_Cover my eyes,_

_Cover my ears,_

_Tell me these words are a lie,_

_It cant be true…_

_That I'm losing you,_

_The sun cannot fall from the sky…_

_Can you hear heaven cry?_

_The tears of an angel,_

_Tears of angel,_

_Tears of an angel…_

_Stop every clock,_

_Stars are in shock,_

_The river would run to the sea,_

_I wont let you fly,_

_I wont say goodbye…_

_I wont let you slip away from me…_

_Can you hear heaven cry?_

_Tears of an angel,_

_Tears of an angel,_

_Tears of an angel…_

_So hold on,_

_Be strong,_

_Everyday on we'll go,_

_I'm here, dont you fear,_

_Little one…_

_Dont let go…_

_Dont let go…_

_Cover my eyes,_

_Cover my ears,_

_Tell me these words are a lie…"_

_-Tears of An Angel, RyanDan_

The digital clock on the desk marked 3:00 AM, usually everyone would be sleeping by now. But that was not the case for the gang of bikers who found themselves in the waiting room of a hospital. The receptionist at the desk glancing at them periodically and then at the phone ready to call the police if they caused any disruption.

Gabriel paced the room nervously running a hand through his hair and sighing, this wasn't looking promising for any of them.

"Who's gonna call Lucifer?" Voodoo commented anything but thrilled. They all glanced at each other, none of them wanted to do it, but it was better to tell him themselves instead of him finding out later.

Logan merely ignored the men around him and maintained his eyes locked on the floor, he couldn't fathom how they had come to this. Here they all were, waiting for the doctor to come out and tell them how their leader was doing, she was in a bad shape. Worst that they had expected, he had low hopes. She had been coughing up blood all the way to the hospital.

Judas was proof of that; his black leather jacket bore blood stains on it. He kept glancing at them grimly while shifting his gaze to the doors where they had seen the doctors carry her through. He pulled out his cellphone seeing how no one was going to dare and call their second in command.

Several tense moments later Lucifer picked up his phone, "What?" he snarled since it was on speaker. Gabriel's eyes flickered over to Judas; this was clearly not the right time to tell him what had happened.

"It's…its Monica," Judas murmured turning his back on the group of men who all held their breaths, several moments passed before he answered back.

"What happened?" he asked calmly, too calmly. They all knew better, there would be hell to pay for letting this happen to her.

"She…well," he paused sighing once more and decided to just tell him and deal with the consequences later, "she's pretty banged up Lucifer, she was coughing up blood and refused to wake up when we stirred her, it was Jack who did it, were at the hospital right now…" Judas finalized as an eerie silence came from the other line.

"How could you incompetent dogs let this happen! I'll be over there in a few minutes, and I swear…if she doesn't make it through this…I will personally skin you all like the pigs that you are!" he barked before a loud crack was heard and the line went dead.

"He threw his phone…didn't he?" Gabriel commented wincing from the harsh tone Lucifer had used before jumping when a voice startled them all from their thoughts.

"Where is my _fraulein_?" a child asked as they all stopped their current tasks and turned to look at the sliding doors of the entrance. There stood Kiri, holding on to Beatrice's hand, her black teddy bear in the other.

She let go of Beatrice almost instantly and ran to the doors of the hospital before Gabriel stopped her.

"Kiri, you can't go in there love, you have to wait," he told her holding her small frame back and crouching down to see her eye level.

"But…I want to see the _fraulein_!" she cried holding back tears, her soft chocolate curls falling from her ponytail and framing her face. Her cheeks flushed due to the unforgiving winter air outside.

Her bright emerald eyes locking with Gabriel's own ghostly grey, she launched herself into his arms as he merely remained crouched. After a moment or so, one of his own arms wrapped around her and pulled her close as she sniffled against his chest.

"Thanks for calling me," Beatrice said as she looked at Logan who merely nodded in response. His attention back to the pair near the door. It was a rare sight for anyone who didn't know them, to see such an innocent child in the arms of a biker with spiked hair and leather jacket.

But they all knew Kiri so well; she was like their own child. And yet, to see her suffering over Monica like that caused unease throughout the group in the waiting room. The door to the hospital suddenly swung open, the doctor from before standing in the doorway with a grim expression on his face.

"How is she doc?" Voodoo asked standing followed by the rest as the doctor eyed them all. He knew how bikers always got themselves into tight fixes, but this by far was probably one of the worst cases he had seen.

"To be completely honest monsieur's, and mademoiselle, she is not well," he told them addressing the men and Beatrice with a slight frown, "she had three broken ribs, a punctured lung, due to this internal bleeding, and a severe cut on her abdomen…we have already taken care of all of this, but that is not the bad news," he told them as they all took the news, one hit after the other.

"She appears unresponsive to everything we've done, whatever happened to her it must have been such a shock that the poor child refuses to wake," he commented in a low voice as Voodoo cursed and swung at a nearby wall with his fist. Gabriel sighed in regret and looked at Kiri who suddenly appeared to have frozen in his arms upon hearing the news.

Despite being four years old, she understood what broken, bleeding, and refusing to wake meant. She was not happy to hear it; she wanted to see her _fraulein _badly. To be by her side. She was all the family she had left, she had been told that countless times before. But now, it seemed to really sink in.

"Can we…can we see her?" Beatrice asked suddenly understanding the situation. Logan had told her she had been badly beaten up, but that was an understatement to what the doctor had just told them.

The doctor nodded and proceeded to walking them to the room in which Monica was currently in. Kiri holding Gabriel's hand tightly as she walked along sorrowfully dragging her feet, her teddy bear handing low to the ground brushing against the stone cold floor occasionally. She hated hospitals; she had seen her parents here for the last time. In general, hospitals meant death to her.

"Hey kid, she'll be ok," Judas told her walking next to her as her head dropped even lower, she briefly glanced up to look at him, big green eyes pooled with tears as she rose her had weakly.

"Could you hold him?" she asked quietly as Judas stared back at her hand, and the teddy bear she held it in it. He merely nodded and took it and continued walking before he felt a small hand wrap around his free one. He glanced down to see Kiri holding onto his hand as well as they all approached the room and entered.

"God, she would have hated this," Voodoo commented looking around at the various devices that stood around her bedside, the needles sticking into her skin and the constant beeping the machines made. Judas grimaced as well, Voodoo was right…she would have despised the idea of merely being in a hospital, but now to be the one on the bed…that would have upset her greatly.

Kiri let go of both of their hands and ran over to the side of the bed and hopped trying to see her fraulein despite her short stature. Logan walked over and took her into his arms as he rose her up higher for her to get a better view. He almost wished he hadn't.

Kiri instantly let out a whimper upon seeing her only living relative in such a state, her lip was bruised and cut, her whole body, or what was exposed was a sea of dark purple and blue bruises. Her eyes remained shut the whole time. Not once did the shift or give the slightest indication that she would wake.

"_Fraulein_?" Kiri asked reaching out with her small hand as she took Monica's left hand and held it close to her. The tears spilled from her eyes as she clutched her future mother's hand. She couldn't afford to lose her like she had done with her parents.

Beatrice stepped out of the room; this was too much for her. The bastard had really gotten some good hits in before he left. This was overwhelming to her; she couldn't even fathom how Kiri was still in the room despite the condition Monica was in. This was too much for a four year old to handle, and yet there she was refusing to leave the bedside.

"_Fraulein_…please, wake up," she cried her small body shaking in fear of losing her, and anger at the man who had hurt her. Logan continued to hold her up. His eyes closed tightly, his mind blocking out Kiri's desperate cries and pleas for Monica to wake up. His jaw was set tightly, teeth gritting every time the child in his arms sobbed for the woman he had grown to know over the past few years. Voodoo stepped out into the hallway, Kiri's cries had been too much for him as well, his throat felt constricted, he had to get out.

Judas stood on the other side of the bed, looking down at her in rage, he would find Jack, and he would kill him for causing all of this. Gabriel standing next to him, his hand over Monica's right hand, he could barely feel her pulse. That alone was terrifying.

They had already lost her brother and his wife; they couldn't possibly lose her as well.

Echoes coming from the hall startled them all, they were harsh sounding. Boots hitting the delicate white floors. They heard Voodoo and Beatrice gasp and step aside as the devil himself stepped through the doorway.

"Lucifer," Gabriel told him bowing his head in acknowledgement and stepping aside followed by Judas who merely glanced at their second in command before allowing him space.

To say that Lucifer was intimidating was a grave understatement. In fact that's how he had gotten through the reception desk; he had scared the poor woman so badly that she had pointed him off in the direction where the room he was looking for was.

He had his hair spiked like all of them, problem was, his curled naturally at the ends mimicking a pair of horns. He had his crimson eye contacts in replacing his own grey pair of haunting orbs. His canine teeth sharpened more than your average person, were bared through the sneer he was directing at the men in the room.

He walked over to the side of the bed Monica found herself in and stopped when he reached her side. He sighed, his sneer disappearing as he took in her state, and with every second that passed his temper increased. He would have Jack's head, at all costs.

He pulled off one of his gloves with his teeth as he reached out hesitantly and caressed her bruised cheek. Pain flashed through his eyes before being replaced by a deep rage that bubbled within him.

"The doc said she hasn't woken, or showed any responses to what they've done," Judas told him standing next to Lucifer knowing full well what he was planning just by the sudden change in mood.

Lucifer pulled his hand back after letting it linger on her cheek for the briefest of moment; he pulled his glove back on and glanced at Kiri who clung to Logan for dear life asking why Monica wasn't waking. She couldn't understand why her eyes wouldn't open, and she wouldn't for a while.

Lucifer's gaze hardened upon looking at the child and then Monica who remained on the bed next to him.

He turned to look at the remaining men, plans already forming.

"I want Jack, preferably alive so I can teach him some manners…now go! Inform everyone, I want to hear that pig squeal for mercy," he ordered as Judas, Gabriel, and Voodoo happily walked out of the room and went to do as he had told them. They wanted Jack's blood as much as he did, and once the gang found out there would be no pace for him to hide in.

Lucifer walked out of the room after they had gone, all he could hear was Logan's voice reassuring Kiri.

"She will wake, trust me _mon ange_…she will wake," Logan told her as he settled down on a chair that he had pulled up next to the bed, Kiri crying in his arms still.

Beatrice stepped out of the way as the devil passed by her, he stormed down the hall, doctors and nurses pressing themselves up against the walls giving Lucifer space to walk.

"Hell hath no fury like a biker scorned," Beatrice whispered after their retreating forms before hearing them all rev up their motorcycles. Time was running out for Jack, it was only a matter of time before the gang found him.

And if they didn't, then the Phantom of the Opera would surely succeed where they had not.

**The Phatom will come in next, so dont forget to review! Any suggestions for Jack's death are welcome my dears :3 or to how they find him, anything thats on your mind, any doubts, questions...let me know! Review ;D**


	14. Ungrateful BackBiting Snake!

**Ungrateful Back-Biting Snake!**

**A/N: This is more of a filler chapter, plus you guys have to understand how this is all going to unfold right? Things have been hectic since I recently bought a Pitbull puppy...for those of you with dogs...you know what I mean, I hope to update sooner since this is so short! So be on the look out for a new chappie soon! Kuddos to those of you who can figure out where some of the dialouge came from! ;D**

Lucy tossed and turned in her bed, her sheets discarded at the foot of the bed. Her guilt was overwhelming her mind, it was smothering her. She shifted again flailing her arms to the side, her peaceful dreams turned to nightmares the moment she told Jack about seeing Monica near the Opera Populair.

She had her own selfish reasons for doing such an act. Ever since that night on the roof of the Opera house she found it incredibly difficult to put the Phantom out of her mind. She constantly found herself thinking of him throughout the day and smiling for no apparent reason. She shook it off when she caught herself, but it was useless trying to prevent it.

She found herself drawn to the Opera Ghost since that first meeting, and it was that state of mind that caused her to act and set Jack loose. Her mind however decided to scold her for doing such actions in her dreams. But was it so wrong?

She had acted out of jealously as well; to see Monica coming out of the Opera House alive had caused a seething rage to bubble deep inside of her. If the brat survived the Phantom then why couldn't she?

She had considered going to the Opera House countless times before, but she always ended up backing out and heading back home. Part of her was still horrified of being killed with his rope or whatever he called it. She liked life; she didn't plan on losing hers just yet.

But why was Monica so special? The harlot had no special features. Her hair was black, her eyes a muddy brown, what made her so damn likeable?

Lucy often found herself thinking that question for hours. She was perfect compared to Monica; she had angelic blond hair and sea blue eyes. Her skin had a light tan as compared to Monica's pale complexion. Lucy loved the sun, she loved light. Night however, was something she detested. The mere thought of being in the dark repulsed her. Perhaps that's why Monica was so pale, she never went out when it was sunny, she preferred the night. It seemed to give her a rush.

Lucy was prefect, so why couldn't the Phantom just see that and make her his victim instead? She certainly wouldn't protest.

She had watched every movie, read every book, listened to every soundtrack, and as the days went by she found herself more and more drawn to the elusive specter. She deserved him, not Monica!

Sure music wasn't really her thing; she preferred partying and socializing with friends. Candles were out of date as well, some modern lamps would do the Phantom well, and that organ of his certainly wouldn't be missed by Lucy, in fact she could picture a Plasma mounted on the wall as replacement.

Lucy knew he wouldn't mind if he suggested all of those new remodeling ideas, in fact she was certain he would welcome her with open arms. Only one thing stood in the way of her perfect plan: Monica.

The self-centered, attention seeking, two faced traitor.

She had to get rid of her in order draw the Phantom's attention on to her. By god she could certainly sing better than that screeching pig, she could dance better, hell she looked better. She was an angel, and Monica was a demon blocking her way.

Lucy didn't care if she had a child to look after despite all of her duties as a leader of a motorcycle gang. She didn't care if she had to constantly help others when they were in need, and she certainly didn't care if she had to put their wellbeing before herself. Monica had to go, end of story.

Whatever Jack had done, she deserved that thousand fold. She didn't care if she had caused permanent damage to her 'friend'. She could care less, all that mattered was her. That's how it had been since the beginning. Her family was richer, of higher class and of greater influence.

Sure Monica's family had always had the favor of the people for being generous compared to her own family's cold demeanor. She really didn't mind, in fact she liked to feel better than others, she liked to be noticed, but it was hard when Monica was around.

She would draw more people in than Lucy; perhaps it was her way of talking, or her politeness. Lucy could never place it. She really never wanted to either. She deserved the attention not her! She was better that her! She was better…

"Lucy!" Jack shouted pounding on the door to her house desperately trying to get out of the cold air of the snow storm that had picked up outside.

Lucy's eyes shot open upon hearing the knocks, her thoughts had been cut short as well. To hell with it she would probably have another time to think of them. It could wait, her wellbeing was more important, and so was her plan.

She rushed down the stairs and opened the door pulling Jack inside upon seeing him standing there. His leather jacket was stiff from the cold air outside, snowflakes were scattered in his hair quickly melting due to the warmth of Lucy's house.

"God Jack you had me worried to death! You didn't even call me!" Lucy scolded. Jack paid no attention to her mussing; he merely stood paralyzed in the hall. He looked down at his blood stained hands while Lucy walked up behind him and smiled sweetly upon seeing her work.

"I hurt her…" Jack murmured turning his head to look at her, his eyes bearing nothing but remorse and disgust for himself.

"She betrayed you! Shunned you and despised you! Why can't you see that? You did nothing wrong," Lucy told him leading him into her living room where her own dog lay on the couch. It jumped down and stretched before trotting out of the room as the pair of humans entered. The dog had no intention of being in the same room as Lucy, that meant risking it and getting beaten sooner or later.

"But I…I actually hurt Monica," Jack mumbled sitting down halfheartedly staring into the fire as Lucy paced behind the couch he was on. Her temper flaring.

"Monica! Monica! It's always her!" she spat storming out of the room as Jack ignored her.

The fire crackled loudly, fiery embers dancing before his eyes. He wouldn't forget what he had done until he died, he had to see her. Win her back; he couldn't lose her to that monster who was probably just using her.

He knew the whole gang would be looking for him; he would have to watch himself. For now, he would stay with Lucy, but when the time was right he would visit Monica. He had to.

They were all playing a dangerous game; one wrong move could spill disaster and death. Jack just hoped he wasn't the first to fall. He would risk it if it meant seeing her once more.

Devil take the hindmost.

**Review my dears!**


	15. Our Very Own Jekyll & Hyde!

**Our Very Own Jekyll & Hyde!**

**A/N: Its been too long! School is a pain my dear readers...a pain! Hope you enjoy...and dont worry, Jack and the Phantom are coming in the next chapter ;) So you can look forward to that even though they are both mentioned in this chappie, I want to dedicate a whole chapter to those two so you can look forward to that :D Here it is, enjoy!**

"It's been two months," Lucifer mumbled looking around the hospital room while pacing. The machines in the background kept beeping reminding him of why he was here in the first place. He turned to look at the woman on the bed and sighed deeply.

"Two long months…" he whispered looking out of the window to the night sky. The snow had accumulated rested untouched throughout Paris. He would have appreciated the view, if only the woman on the bed was next to him and awake.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked snarling turning from the window with a sneer on his face which quickly disappeared once his eyes landed on Monica. He dropped his head and sulked over to the chair next to her. He collapsed on it and propped his elbows up on the side of her bed.

"You would kill me if you found out I let you stay in a hospital," he joked, caressing the side of her face and frowning when his hand brushed the oxygen mask the doctor had persisted she have. The more he looked her over the more angered he got, from the needles sticking into her skin to the machines all around her.

Before he could continue his observations the door swung open revealing Kiri in Voodoo's arms, Judas standing behind the pair holding her black teddy bear. Lucifer dropped his hand from Monica's cheek and stood stiffly, his 'mask' back on his face. He turned to the chair and grabbed his leather jacket before he looked at the other two bikers and clenched his jaw, his eyes glazing over once more to their usual cold look.

"Uncle Lu!" Kiri exclaimed launching herself from Voodoo's arms and into the other biker's hold. Lucifer caught her just in time and held her up while facing the other two with a straight face daring them to laugh. She was the only person on the face of the earth allowed to call him 'Lu' and despite the fact that he wasn't really her uncle and it made him feel older than he really was he allowed it.

"Anything new?" Judas asked motioning with his eyes over to Monica. Lucifer simply shook his head sensing Kiri starting to get teary eyed once more.

"Has she had anything to eat?" Lucifer asked referring to Kiri as the other two bikers shook their heads. Beatrice had left the small child in their care, and while others would have argued that it was the most dangerous place to leave a child it was the complete opposite. They would protect her, even if it meant their deaths, that was the perk about being in a biker family. They all took care of each other.

"Well then let's get her something to eat," Lucifer ordered glaring at the other two as they caught on. The less time they spent in the room the better it was for Kiri. They all walked out leaving Monica under the watch of two other bikers who stood outside of her door ready to raise hell if anyone else but the doctor wanted to get in.

The drive downtown was short since cars went out of their way to let the bikers through. Kiri rode with Lucifer, the police would have protested had it been anyone else. But even they weren't stupid enough to go up against a gang as well known as the Devil's Bastards, much less against Lucifer himself who was one of the three leaders.

After letting Kiri eat her dinner they all walked out of the restaurant and let her wander around for a while, staying inside of the hospital had affected her greatly and she needed some fresh air. Paris was just the place for her to relive some of her nervousness.

The streets themselves were sideshows with Mardi Gra around the corner. Musicians were at every corner, harlequins doing back flips and various tricks filled the plazas. It was a child's playground. Lucifer followed behind Kiri allowing her to go wherever she pleased.

She wandered around the streets stopping occasionally when a clown caught her attention or a street performer did a stunt right next to her. The more she walked the more she became entranced with the music that flowed through the air.

It wasn't until she heard a sorrowful violin drowning out the rest of the instruments that she stopped suddenly causing Voodoo to halt as well, Judas running into his back.

"Hey bro watch where the fu-" Judas started before Lucifer stopped next to him and turned his head warningly. The words died in his throat, and before the three knew what was happening Kiri was making her way through the large crowd that surrounded the musician with the violin.

As soon as the three bikers stepped into the picture behind her the crowd parted like the Red sea allowing the child to walk up to the man who had caught her attention so quickly.

Lucifer placed a glove covered hand on her shoulder as she tilted her head in amazement while looking at the peculiar musician.

He was shrouded by the night, his black cape dancing in the breeze. She tried to see his face, but it was shadowed by not only blackness but by the black fedora placed upon his head. The violin matching his attire was also black, like the night sky produced the most enchanting melody her ears had ever heard.

Her green eyes sparkled in wonder and curiosity. She wondered why this man looked so different from the other musicians, why the crowd that had gathered was larger than all of the other spectacles on the street.

She wanted to know, because as soon as her _fraulein _woke up she would tell her of the funny man who had the most amazing music in the whole wide world. That being said she silently slid out of Lucifer's grasp and walked up to the man with the violin.

She tilted her head ever so slightly her chocolate curly hair blowing in the wind as she took a hold of his cape and tugged on it gently.

"Monsieur, you play beautifully," she whispered giving him a toothy smile while giggling. The musician stopped playing and looked down at the disturbance grabbing his cape. Kiri looked up trying to see his face more clearly but the only thing she saw was a black mask and the most intriguing blue eyes.

The musician tilted his head amazed at the child; never had anyone approached him in that manner…no one but a certain woman. She was the reason he was out in the first place, he wanted to find her once more, to see why she hadn't come back yet. Instead he had run into a curious child being escorted by rather odd men.

"Uncle Lu can we give him money? I really like his music!" Kiri asked hopping up and down looking to the leader of the bikers while letting go of the odd man's cape.

"Voodoo," Lucifer ordered as the biker in question stepped forward and pulled a large sum of money and dumped it in the open violin case which was already full with money. Clearly Kiri wasn't the only one who liked the man's music.

"Let's go Kiri, I need to check on Monica, we've been gone too long," Lucifer commanded as the child glanced back at the musician with sadness in her eyes.

"Of course, Uncle Lu," she said with sorrow as she started to walk away but not before she looked back at the masked man, "_Auf Wiedersehen," _she said waving her gloved hand to him and smiling once more.

The masked man however stared after the group in surprise, he had gotten the information that he had been looking for. At long last he had heard something from his muse. The Phantom was pleased with this new piece of information. It had been worth it, he had his doubts when he first stepped out of the Opera Populair to look for her. Now he was glad he had done so.

The only thing that bothered him greatly was why she hadn't comeback… it had been over three months. And the words that the biker had told the child only increased his concern…had something actually happened to her?

He put those thoughts aside and resumed his playing but continued to watch the group leave with the child, he would find her. He did not care about the cost; he would find her and see what had happened. He tore his gaze away and continued to play. At this rate he would be able to buy the city of Paris with all of the money that the people were giving him.

But that was unimportant to him; he would burn the whole city of Paris if it meant finding Monica. For now he would have to wait, see if anything else came up and then set out to find her. Despite the pain of waiting he knew it would be worth it once he did find her.

That thought alone cheered him up. But he couldn't help but wonder what the child and the three bikers had to do with his muse. All in due time he supposed, all in due time. For now, the best he could do was drown out his pain with a little bit of music.

"Seal my fate tonight," he started to sing as the crowd around him clapped and cheered while closing the gap that had been left by the bikers.

OoOoOoOoO

Back at the hospital Lucifer and other bikers found themselves in Monica's room once more when Logan ran in out of breath, his hair all over the place.

"It's the Jackals, the bastards are in our territory," he choked trying to catch his breath. Every head seemed to snap to Lucifer.

"Joker," Lucifer called out as the third leader of the gang stepped forward. The scar on his left cheek gleaming menacingly under the dim lighting. They didn't call him 'Joker' for kicks; the scar gave him permanent smile that was hard not to stare at.

"Sir," Joker said bowing his head as the room went quiet.

"I want you and the rest of the gang to go out and meet those bast-" he started before a loud and painful cough cut him off as he snapped his head over to the bed along with the rest of the people in the room.

Much to everyone's surprise Monica's eyes shot open, she looked around confused at first before they landed on Lucifer. She sat up with the help of Judas and Voodoo who held her up by supporting her back. She tore off the oxygen mask slowly and breathed in a couple of times shocked to even be in a hospital.

She looked around the room at the various machines and the annoying beeping that they made as she looked at the needles sticking into her arms. She frowned and pulled them out with a harsh tug. The nurse came rushing in but much like everyone she was startled to see her patient awake after a three month coma.

"You," she said looking at the nurse angrily, "get out," she growled making Lucifer's brow furrow in confusion.

"And you!" she snarled with difficulty tossing the sheets to her bed aside angrily eyes locked with Lucifer, "how dare you let them keep me here!" she cried in outrage. Lucifer stepped back bumping into Logan by accident showing everyone how startled and genuinely scared he was of her at the moment.

"How long have I been here?" she asked hoarsely rubbing her neck.

"Three months," Judas replied as he eyes glazed over with fury.

"Lucifer, the Jackals," Joker reminded the startled biker as Monica turned a critical eye on the scarred man.

"What about the Jackals?" she growled demandingly never taking her eyes off of Lucifer who stared back defiantly.

"They're in our territory babe," Lucifer replied knowing how to deal with Monica more than anyone.

"I don't want anyone to confront them until I say so, where are my clothes?" she asked looking around as a biker tossed her clothing over to her.

She got up with difficulty and walked over to the bathroom. The room remained quiet as the shower was turned on. A couple of minutes later she stepped out wearing her mid drift shirt exposing her scar and her normal biker boots and skinny jeans.

"Did you bring my jacket?" she asked Lucifer as he nodded and handed the colors over to her. She slipped it on proudly and took out her gloves from the pockets.

"Jekyll went out the building, and Hyde is here to stay!" Voodoo chuckled as everyone else laughed at the inside joke. She had so many similarities with the insane doctor that she had earned her self the title of 'Miss Jekyll & Hyde'. She was usually her normal self until something or someone did her wrong. That was when her darker side came out, and now with the Jackals invading her territory and killing her family members she had finally allowed the devil within her to come out.

"Where is Kiri?" she asked ruffling her hair while looking outside.

"With Beatrice, at your house," Logan told her as she nodded pleased with the fact that she would be far away when the two gangs clashed.

"I've had enough from those dogs…they killed Felix, they killed Mercedes, they killed Micah and Luna, and they've killed 8 more of our men," she told them pacing the room referring to her parents, her brother and his wife and the other members of her gang.

"And now they think they can run rampant through our city? We are the Devil's Bastards gentlemen! And we do not back down from a fight!" she snarled as several men nodded and others cheered in approval.

"I've had enough of those incompetent fools, they have messed with us for the last time…" she told Lucifer who nodded. He didn't bother in pointing out that she was still healing simply because she wasn't anymore. In the three months that she had been in a coma she had recovered completely.

"We haven't found Jack yet, perhaps he's already dead," Lucifer told her as she nodded. She knew for a fact that Jack wasn't dead; vermin like him had a hard time dying. But that wasn't her priority at the moment.

For now she would take out the threat of the rival gang in her turf, having them there threatened Kiri, and that was something she wouldn't stand for. After that was taken care of she would go over and see the Phantom…the Phantom, what would he think of her? What would he say? Would he even welcome her back?

She pushed those thoughts aside when Gabriel appeared in the doorway, blood running down his cheek from a cut just below his eye.

"Their already in the city," he informed them as Monica turned to look at her two most trusted men.

"This ends tonight, Lucifer will drive me over to the bar to get my motorcycle, Joker I want you and the rest to agitate the Jackals, drive them out of Paris…we don't want any innocent people dying, we'll meet you there," she told the two men who nodded and stood up.

"You sure you wanna do this babe?" Lucifer whispered in her ear as the bikers started to exit out of the room.

"I'm a Bastard, I knew what I was getting myself into when my father allowed me to join," she whispered back.

With that said he nodded and walked out also leaving her by herself in the room as she looked around for the last time.

"Let me live through this…" she whispered looking up at the sky through her window, "let me see **him **one more time," she continued supporting herself on the back of a chair thinking of the Phantom. She would give anything to live through the confrontation that was coming up in order to see the Phantom if she survived through it.

"Past the point of no return…the final threshold, the bride is crossed so stand and watch it…burn!" she growled raising her spirits and smiling to herself.

Everyone knew what happened when biker gangs clashed…death was something expected out large confrontations, and this one would be no different.

Both sides only hoped that the casualty number remained low, after all Paris only had room for one biker gang…

**Review~!**


	16. It's My Town

**It's My Town...**

**A/N: Not so sure on this one...let me know what you think my dear readers...suggestions are welcome! Dont be shy :D**

The streets of Paris were crowded for the time of night, but with the approaching roar of motorcycles approaching the large masses of people started to part letting the bikers through. They all knew better than to defy one of the most notorious biker gangs in the area, the Jackals.

Their leader rode at the front of the pack, dark aviator glasses placed on his face, his face covered by a black handkerchief he had tied above his nose with a skull jaw on it. His second and third in command right behind him dressed in black from head to toe. The black Berettas at their waist gleaming eerily in the dim lighting of the streets as the rest of the gang followed behind.

The crowd caught sight of several shotguns and handguns, and that frightened them beyond belief. Mothers pulled their children closer, and husbands ushered their families behind their backs as the gang rode through town tossing empty whiskey bottles at business windows and streets.

"THIS IS OUR TOWN NOW YOU DOGS!" the leader, Stryker announced slamming down on the breaks of his bike and skidding to a sideways stop causing ice to scrape off of the sidewalks. The snow flew onto a little girl who stood by watching in fear.

Several of the other bikers boasted as well spreading out into the crowd as several people drew away from them. The Phantom watched in slight agitation…what had this world turned into? He merely stood still near the dark alley he had been playing at and watched as the idiotic fool and his brainless followers caused chaos throughout the people of Paris.

He had the strong urge to Punjab the poor fool and put him out of his misery, but he held back. He didn't want to draw attention to himself in such a manner. He merely followed the one several other bikers called Stryker and took note of how pathetic he truly was despite him being the leader of such a feared gang. Hell, even the fop could have been more intimidating than the biker before the Opera Ghost.

That being said he merely cast his attention to the sky, the stars shone brightly…everything seemed perfect and yet, it wasn't.

His attention shot to the biker once more once he heard a mother scream out in horror due to her child being torn away from her arms.

The Opera Ghost tensed immensely as he continued to watch the biker dangle the little girl by the back of her coat, how he loathed men who thought it acceptable to harm women, or children for the matter.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried her arms outstretched yearning for the touch of her mother only to get shaken violently by the biker as if to make an example out of her.

"You are all fools, this city is ours…even the Bastards cower before us! Where are they now? Hiding from us!" Stryker barked in laughter tossing the little girl aside as several others erupted into laughter.

The mother rushed forward only to get held back by two other bikers, Stryker seizing the little girl once more and running a calculative eye through the crowd.

He knew none of them were foolish enough to step forward and do something, and that gave him immense pleasure. To know that he controlled them so easily.

Several other bikes roared in the distance, Stryker turned to face them expecting it to be more members of his gang only to realize that their bikes didn't sound like that.

His face paled considerably he thought the other members of his gang had taken care of them, but now he realized they had gotten in deep with something they didn't want to mess with.

The Phantom tilted his head to the newest arrivals and nearly dropped his violin when he saw his muse for the first time in what seemed centuries.

Several of the Jackals revved up their bikes and moved out of the way as the second biker gang rode into town, the relief on the faces of the people who were terrified before only increased Stryker's fury.

"Enough!" Joker barked skidding to a stop as well, Monica in front of him leaning in on her handle bars her bike already parked, Lucifer pulling up to her left side as the rest of her own gang joined in behind her.

"Well look what we have here! The last of the Van Burens!" Stryker's second in command, Vane, called out.

Monica tensed visibly, it was true. Normally in these situations she would have her brothers by her side, her father and mother. But they wouldn't be here this time, they were dead…murdered.

"Watch what you say Vane, you couldn't even protect your own," Lucifer shot back as Vane's face reddened considerably, the vein in his neck popped out as he recalled finding his wife and child murdered upon getting home. It hadn't been the Bastards, but he still held it against them. They could have stopped the gang that killed his kin, and they just stood by and watched.

"This is our town, get out!" Stryker shouted above the loud protests on both sides, they all hushed as Monica got off of her bike painfully and walked slowly towards the rival gang, while looking around at the faces of the people who stood nearby.

Children stared back wide eyed hoping they wouldn't get pushed around while others merely refused to make eye contact with her. No one move in fear of causing a shootout to erupt in mid plaza.

"Your wrong Stryker," Monica told him laughing slightly as the leader of the Jackals stood tall refusing to give in to the woman in front of him, "it's my town and my road…not yours," she told him calmly eyeing the Beretta on his hip.

Likewise he was eyeing the revolver strapped to her own waist carefully daring her to draw it and shoot anyone on his side.

"We all know who the ruling gang is, and if you had any respect for our colors and your own you would see that you are not welcome here," she continued eyeing the rest of his own members over his shoulder, several of them stared back sneering while others looked down ashamed.

She knew they had been responsible for the death of her family, but she wasn't about to start cutting off heads just yet.

"We're not here for your territory…yet," Vane told her stepping forward towering over her trying to intimidate him. Lucifer stepped up next to her and stared down at Vane daring him to try to intimidate her in his presence. Monica on the other hand was unfazed by Vane, her real concern stood a few feet away glaring daggers at her.

"Why are you here then?" Joker demanded glancing around to make sure there were no hidden bikers lurking around with guns pointed at them.

"We want your boy, Jack," Boogeyman replied stepping next to Stryker. By this time the tension was running high amongst both groups. Their three leaders were sizing each other up and everyone was restless watching the six figures at the center of the two gangs.

"Jack isn't here," Monica snarled back earing herself a questioning eyebrow raise from Vane who took interest in the new development he was discovering.

"Did Romeo run off and leave Juliet?" Stryker joked half-heartedly as Judas tensed and looked over at Logan and Gabriel who crossed their arms and clenched their jaws. That was a personal subject to the Bastards.

"He's the reason I was in a coma you hypocrite! And you knew that by now!" Monica barked back defensively as Stryker's lips curled into his trademark grin.

This whoever caught he Phantom's attention. His eyes swept in an exremely calculative manner over his muse, and he nearly growled out in rage, there was a large scar on her stomach that he distinctly remembered wasn't there before. Her limp and painful way of moving only increased his agitation further. The coma explained her absence…a coma.

How could he not know before? Where was he when she needed him the most? Sulking around in the lair, waiting for her return.

And now there she was before him, and he couldn't get near. It was as if he was looking at her through glass…so close and yet so far.

In her absence he had time to reflect on where the Opera House was going and why he still needed her there despite the renovations being almost complete. He knew the answer to it all, and yet…he didn't want to admit it to himself.

He managed to force his eyes to see her once more, and he almost regretted it. She made eye contact with him, _'And in his eyes…all the sadness of the world, those pleading eyes, that both threaten and adore,' _she thought as soon as she saw him. Her angel.

She actually stepped forward to go to his side but caught herself and abruptly stopped her other foot form moving away from the confrontation that called for her attention at the moment.

"I have pressing matters to attend to gentlemen, now if you do not mind…get out of my territory, Jack isn't here," she told Stryker while looking at the other two next to him. As bikers on both sides shifted and tensed considerably. If a fight was to break out if would be now or never.

Stryker was many things, but a coward wasn't one of them. He knew Monica wasn't in shape for a fight, hell she could barely walk. He would win this territory from the Bastards, but not like this. Not when they were at their weakest.

A nearby trash can being tipped over caused all heads to snap to a nearby alley. Monica's eyes widened in shock while Lucifer's darkened considerably.

Every biker's jaw dropped upon realizing who their interruption was. Jack stared back horrified at the mass of gang members who were present and staring back at him. His worry only increased when he realized they were the Bastards and the Jackals.

He spun as fast as his feet would allow him and broke out into a sprint through the alley as several shouts and orders were roared out to follow him and catch him at all costs. Of all the days to go out in the city he had chosen today. Luck wasn't on his side.

"Get on your bikes I want his head! The man who brings him to me alive gets my bike!" Lucifer roared to the Bastards as they all revved up their bikes.

"We'll catch him for you babe," Judas whispered to Monica as he passed by her and hopped on his own motorcycle. He wasn't doing this for Lucifer's bike, although it was a rare ride. And neither were the rest of the members. They merely wanted blood for what had been done to their leader and gang.

"Get on your bikes! I want him alive you mongrels!" Stryker ordered as the Jackals retreated as well rushing in the direction Jack had scurried off to.

"I don't care if you have to burn down all of Paris, find him!" Lucifer thundered mounting his own bike and looking at Monica expectantly. She shook her head and motioned over to the direction of the Opera House. Lucifer nodded in understanding after a moment and headed off towards the direction Jack had escaped to.

Monica looked after her men, she knew they would find him; they had never let her down before. Right now however she only had one man in mind…and she wanted to see him desperately.

She mounted her own bike slowly and painfully grimacing at the pain she felt from her scar. She revved up her bike and looked up at the sky slightly, god how she missed riding her motorcycle.

Before she could leave however the little girl and her mother that had been harassed before the Bastards arrived walked up to her hesitantly. The little girl let go of her mother's hand after a moment and walked shyly up to Monica.

"Thank you, miss," she whispered shyly hugging Monica's leg. Monica smiled back and nodded at the girl before she ran back to her mother. The older woman threw Monica an appreciative smile before Monica nodded back and sped away towards the Opera House.

The drive there was nerve-racking to her; she knew he would be there due to his absence when she looked around after the bikers had all dispersed. She knew he would be at the lair.

She nearly fell off of her bike when she reached the gates of the Opera Populair. She ran through the front doors despite the pain it was causing her and rushed down through the catacombs desperate to see the famous Opera Ghost.

She reached the lair with tears in her eyes once she saw him sitting down on his organ as if she had never left.

"_Why so silent Opera Ghost_?" she sang sadly to him as he turned surprised to see her, his eyes full of sorrow, "_did you think that I had left you for good_?" she continued tears streaming down her face as he rose from the organ to face her directly.

She stopped singing, out of breath and managed to walk through the water to reach him. He couldn't believe his eyes; there she was after three months standing in front of him wet, crying, and out of breath.

"_Angel of music…do not shun me_," she sang horrified of the thought of him rejecting her after all she had been through, after everything she had sacrificed to come and see him.

His silence petrified her; she stood before him, freezing and hurt. What he did next however, she would never forget.

He lifted his gaze to her, his beautiful eyes said everything. They were her way of seeing his emotions when his expressions didn't portray them, and he saw nothing but forgiveness in the two metallic blue orbs.

"_Come to your strange angel_," he sang back as she choked back tears upon hearing his voice once more. The world seemed to stop for them as she clung onto his frame desperately, his own arms draping around her small frame filled her with a strange warmth that Jack's hold lacked.

"_In sleep you sang to me…in sleep you came, and do I dream again? For now I find, the Phantom of the Opera is there…inside my mind_," she sang.

Sure enough he started to hum quietly, such a glorious melody that made her stress decrease instantly and her eyes close in content, her body ready for sleep. And much like the first night they met, he sang her troubles away and carried her small frame to the swan room.

He placed her gently on the bed and stood up to his full height upon looking at his muse, she had a lot of explaining to do, and he would have a lot of revenge to fulfill.

But as his gloved hand caressed her cheek, all of it was forgotten. And for the briefest of moments, he felt like fate had given him one last chance to correct the mistakes he had once made. But upon seeing his mask out of the corner of his eye on the mirror she had uncovered in the room that hope was quickly dashed away.

"_Fear can turn to love, you learn to see to find the man...behind this monster, this repulsive carcass...who seems a beast, but secretly dreams of beauty...secretly...secretly_," he sang quietly hoping that she wasnt another Christine, and that another disaster didnt follow the decisions he made this time around...

**Review! I dont know what happened to half of you, did you die? Should me and Eric conduct a search party for you guys? And to those who havent reviewed yet, do so! I want to know your thoughts on this, let me know Im heading in the right direction my dear readers! Ciao :D**


	17. Cracked Porcelain

**Cracked Porcelain...**

**A/N: Dear readers...how long have you waited for this update? I give you all permission to form mobs and come after me with pitchforks and torches...my inspiration left me for a while, but thank god it has returned. Just to catch you up on this story so you dont have to browse back: Jack is currently running for his life after being discovered roaming the streets in the last chapter, Monica is out of the coma and currently staying with the Phantom...and as my friends like to say...This is sort of the calm before the storm. Things will get complicated in the next chappie as we go back to Jack and Lucy! On a side note Kiri and the Phantom will finally meet like some of you have been wanting for a while now ;D So read on mein freunde, and once more...my sincere apologies!...P.S :D at the beginning of the chapter Monica dosent believe that she's still alive, thats why she's so negative and delusional at first, after a three month coma I would probably feel that way too! DX  
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_Masquerade…paper faces on parade. Masquerade; hide your face so the world will never find you…._

The familiar tune floated throughout the lair, the music box playing without fault. Monica slowly opened her eyes but closed them soon afterward. She was sure that seeing the Phantom had all been a dream, perhaps she was still at the hospital. Perhaps she was dead already.

She rolled over grimacing while burying her face into the pillow. She was probably dead, why else would her resting place feel so comfortable. She brought her hand up slowly to cover her face as she rolled over once more.

Why did her life have to end so suddenly? Why now, when she had so many things to take care of, to finish.

She fought with herself and decided to get up anyway. Slowly but surely she stood up, her hand still covering her face. Her hair stuck out in different directions, some strands defying gravity. She dropped her hand halfheartedly and opened her eyes completely.

She looked around; she recognized the place well by now. It was the swan room back at the lair. She looked over to her nightstand to find the music box that had woken her. A monkey dressed in Persian clothing sat upon the finely carved box, its beady little eyes staring back at her sadly.

Her grimace only seemed to grow as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Fate was being cruel to her; after all of the pain she had endured with Jack, even in death God seemed to get a kick out of taunting her with such cruelty.

She arrived to the conclusion that she had never opened her eyes back at the hospital, the Jackals had never invaded her territory and she hadn't come back to the lair. It was all a cruel illusion. It seemed surreal, but she shook the thoughts off.

Her eyes took a darker shade as she stood up and walked out of the room. How did it all come to this? Her eyes wandered over the lair, everything was just like before and yet…she didn't get the same feeling of warmth that she had before.

"Was it a dream…?" she whispered to herself running her hand over the keys of the organ. They felt real enough…but where was the owner of said instrument. Perhaps he could help clear her mind and set her straight.

A sharp pain on her abdomen caused all of the thoughts pertaining to the Phantom and her memories to be dashed away only to be replaced by a searing pain. Her hand shot up instinctively to the area where Jack had left a permanent mark hidden beneath bandages.

She backed up against the organ and placed her free hand upon the keys causing the notes to emit from the instrument and flood the lair. A hiss escaped her lips as she bit her lounge to hold back the pain that plagued her body and mind.

"I see you are awake," a voice commented causing her eyes to drift upward. She would have smiled upon seeing the familiar figure had she been in a better mood. She lowered her gaze from the man and fixed it firmly upon the ground beneath her.

"Am I dead…?" she asked quietly, scared of what his reply might be. Instead she earned herself a questioning glace from said specter followed by the raising of his eyebrow as he looked her over making sure she hadn't hit her head or fallen into the lake.

"Why would you ask such an absurd question," the man replied remaining in place, neither making a move to get away or get closer.

"Because I think I am, why else would I be down here with you," she explained, "last time I was awake I was being beaten to death…thrown down the stairs and nearly maimed with a knife…I don't know about you, but I don't think I survived that," she added laughing slightly as the pain began to creep away.

An eerie silence filled the lair; her heavy breathing was all that reached their ears. Monica looked up, and she could have sworn she was looking at the devil himself. Her eyes dilated slightly as they met with the metallic blue of the Phantom of the Opera.

She would have ran had she been able to.

"What?" he snarled dangerously, his jaw clenched tightly.

"If you didn't know…then," she paused slightly regretting what she had just let slip out of her mouth, "I'm not dead, and I'm back at the opera house," she whispered, her voice shaking as she realized her mistake.

"What happened to you…" the Phantom asked once more, his whole body tensing up as his nostrils flared warningly. He looked like a bull ready to charge and extremely unlucky matador.

"N-nothing…I fell off of my bike," Monica added quickly, much too quickly realizing that this was real life. Jack was still out there, she had the Jackals to deal with, Kiri to take care of, and now she had made the Phantom extremely upset.

His temper snapped, he stormed over to her and seized her by the neck while pressing her up against the organ. The keys being hit once more as she choked and held back a panicked scream, the notes echoing around the pair.

Tears clouded her vision as his cold gloved hand started to constrict her neck. She pleaded silently with him, her hands shook uncontrollably as one seized his wrist and the other clawed desperately at his vest.

"You did not fall from your motorcycle, do not lie to me," he growled shaking her as she choked out a sob.

The Phantom couldn't even control himself anymore. His mind was too busy running over all of the possible scenarios that could have happened to his muse. But the thing that hurt him the most wasn't related to the event that took her away from him. No, the thing that got to him was the fact that she refused to tell him who had done it.

He wanted to know who it had been; he wanted to hear them scream for laying a finger on her, for hurting her. And as he stood there with her delicate neck in his grasp he slowly realized what he was doing, her tear streaked face caused him to step back and drop his hand.

She coughed and rubbed her sore neck staring at him with accusing eyes.

He stayed away from her in fear of losing control of himself again, why couldn't she just see that the mere thought of another man laying a hand on her in that manner enraged him?

"I'm sorry," she murmured looking down. His eyes shot up; honestly he would never understand the woman in front of him. He should be the one apologizing; he should be on his knees begging for forgiveness. And yet she went ahead and apologized to him, to him of all people.

"I should have come sooner," she commented before coughing. A sound so harsh that it made him wince inwardly, "but I couldn't," she continued laughing once more.

She looked up at him, and saw nothing but confusion and regret in those beautiful blue orbs. She shook her head smiling at him and looked down once more.

"I shouldn't have lied to you, I apologize," she said before hugging herself nervously. She was past the point of no return; she had to tell him what had happened. She couldn't lie to him; she didn't think herself capable of it.

"Truth is…I was stuck in a hospital for three months, in a coma," she paused sneering at herself for being so weak, for not being able to control what had been going on throughout the period of her absence, "I was sent there because of Jack…you can probably guess what happened," she commented standing from her place at the organ and shedding her jacket to reveal her sleeveless black shirt underneath.

Numerous small scars were scattered along her skin, some larger than others. She looked down ashamed to have ended like that before rolling her shirt up slightly and wincing to reveal the bandages she had wrapped around her stomach to hide the worst part of her body.

She slowly undid the white material and dropped it revealing the large gash Jack had created with the piece of glass from her house. The scar was still fresh; it went in a curve from her mid rib cage all the way down to her lower abdomen.

The Phantom couldn't believe his eyes as they scanned over her once flawless skin. His hand reaching out instinctively as he brushed his thumb over the large scare analyzing it carefully. Monica stood still the whole time, ashamed of what she had become and to have let the Phantom find out. She had planned to keep it a secret, to never let him or anyone else find out.

"_Look at me and tell me who I am, why I am, __**what**__**I am…**_" she sang as she looked at the Phantom's blank face as it scanned over the rest of her. She didn't know what she was anymore, she was Jack's rag doll, the face of the Bastards, Kiri's new mother…god, she didn't even know what do to with herself.

The Phantom couldn't even begin to fathom what had been going through the boy's head when he decided to harm his muse. He couldn't wrap his mind around it, and that bothered him greatly. She was ashamed of the scars, he could tell easily, but that was nothing compared to what he had to deal with.

She was still beautiful, a porcelain doll in his eyes with the tiniest of cracks in places that could easily be covered. He, on the other hand would always be a monster no matter what he tried to change. His cursed face would always be with him.

A ring broke the silence as Monica glanced over to her phone. She couldn't have asked for better timing. She moved away from the Phantom and picked it up before putting it on speaker.

She sighed as she heard the familiar voices on the phone.

"Boss, were at the front of the Opera House, come open up," Judas ordered, she could hear his teeth chattering and could already tell he was probably freezing outside.

"Judas…you know I can't," Monica reminded him.

"Don't worry boss, it's not me that wanted to come here-"he replied before his voice cut off and was replaced by another.

"_Fraulein!" _Kiri's voice echoed through the phone as the Phantom glanced over at her questioningly, he could have sworn he had heard that voice before. He just couldn't place it.

"That's what I was trying to warn you about," Judas replied before Monica smiled to herself. She distinctly remembered Logan telling her Kiri wouldn't quit talking about the funny man with a mask and violin. She now knew who Kiri had been referring too.

"I'll be up in a minute," Monica replied before hanging up and turning to face the Phantom. Her reason for getting up every day had just showed up, and it was about time that she met the man she had been talking about for days.

"It's time you two were properly introduced," Monica commented looking at the Phantom as he glanced over at the edge of the lake where the gondola was and then at the exit leading out into the city.

"You know what my priorities are," he commented starting to leave her before she reached out and grabbed his hand impeding him from leaving.

"Please, leave it be…it's not that important," Monica pleaded knowing full well what the Phantom meant. He wanted to find Jack, and for some odd reason she didn't want him to leave. She didn't want him to hunt down the man that had caused her so much pain, right now she just wanted to enjoy the little time she had with him.

"How can you say it is not important?" he snapped turning to face her, his expression calm, his eyes however proved otherwise.

"Just let it die for now, this is more important to me than Jack," she pleaded desperately giving his hand a squeeze as he calmed his nerves for the second time that day.

"Do not expect me to let this go unpunished," he warned her as she smiled at him gratefully. His rage was locked away for the moment as soon as she smiled at him. This woman had him wrapped around her finger without even realizing it.

"Thank you," she said before pulling him over to the curtain that lead to the upper levels. The Phantom allowed himself to be led by her, she hadn't let go of his hand, in fact she had probably forgotten she was holding it in the first place. As they moved throughout the catacombs however he allowed himself to hold her hand as well instead of just denying her touch.

Such a simple gesture really, and yet to him it meant the world.

He knew she was taking him to meet the child she had been left to care for, and that was the only reason he had agreed to go. The renovators had left long ago; the Opera Populair would be empty at this hour. Had she wanted him to meet with anyone else he would have said no, but how could he say not to her.

There was nothing she could ask that he could ever refuse.

He wouldn't be forgetting the name of the bastard that would soon meet his fate however. The name _Jack_ wouldn't be forgotten by the Opera Ghost, and as soon as he could he would have the boy's head. He didn't care what it took; he would make him suffer what his muse had gone through. By the time he was done, he would be begging for death.

All the Phantom had to do was wait, and enjoy the time he had with his muse before fate decided to tear her away from his hold once more.

**Review! Let me know what you think so far, any lovely ideas that you might have or what you want to see happen, dont be afraid! Review! **

***For those of you interested, the little portion of song that Monica sings is from the musical 'Jekyll & Hyde' which is extremely good, I highly recommend it! The song is called 'No one knows who I am'  
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	18. Through My Eyes

**Through My Eyes...**

**A/N: Just a quick chappie for those who reviewed :D I love you all, my friend suggested that I upload this faster, so here it is! Enjoy. ^-^  
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Monica walked slowly through the catacombs, the little light that was available was now gone, and pitch blackness replaced it. She guided herself by running her hand along the walls, the Phantom simply following behind waiting for her to give up and allow him to lead.

She stopped however when scurrying reached her ears, her whole body going tense. She felt something scamper in front of her which sent her into a panic attack. By instinct she gripped his hand tighter and walked backwards to where his form was.

"It is simply a rat," he whispered into her ear as she backed up even more. He resisted the urge to sigh, he started to walk first as she stopped him hesitantly.

"They are not going to eat you," he chuckled; he looked back and with his enhanced vision managed to see her frozen form shaking in the darkness. He tilted his head curiously, he had never seen someone so horrified of rats before, but then again, there was a first for everything. Perhaps he had gone too far with the whole carnivorous rat joke.

"Come along, child," he whispered back to her letting go of her hand as she instantly clung to his side, her shaking hands gripping his vest, "this calls for an explanation," he said looking down to her before looking up ahead trying to see where they were and where they needed to turn to reach the upper levels.

"It's nothing," she replied shakily her eyes darting around for the slightest hint of movement. She didn't want to recall the death of her parents at the moment or how she had to recover their bodies. Nevertheless the images of the filthy rodents around their bodies plagued her mind; she didn't realize she flinched physically. She recalled the bites she had received while pulling their bodies away from the filthy rats, their beady little eyes glaring at her in the darkness.

The Phantom remaining quiet as he felt her body flinch, he was about to question her once more until he heard her sniffle. He stopped walking and turned to look at her in concern. He remained silent as her crying reached his ears. He in turn merely closed his eyes and tried to block out the sounds, his jaw clenching every time she sobbed. He hated to see her like this, and it hurt him even more to be unable to do anything.

"I believe that this is _something," _he told her as she tried to pull herself together. How she broke down this easily when he was around amazed her, something about his presence simply made her feel like she could tell him anything.

"Can we please just talk about this some other time?" she murmured back not wanting to remember that fateful day any longer.

"As you wish," he replied taking his hand and brushing it over her cheeks. He could feel her smile weakly as her tears were wiped away. She took the hand he had resting on her cheek and lowered it once more.

"We have to get somewhere remember?" she told him shyly as he merely shook his head slightly. She was right, how could he forget like that?

He merely nodded, by this time she could make him out in the darkness. He started to walk once more, this time leading the way as she followed behind, her arms wrapped around on of his own as he led them thorough the catacombs faster than before, for her sake and Kiri's.

They reached the top levels of the Opera Populair in no time since the Phantom had led the way, they currently walked through the prop rooms, the stage in sight as he let go of her hand and allowed her to walk ahead.

She tried not to sprint to the stage as the Phantom stayed behind watching the scene from the shadows. Judas looked up once he heard someone on the stage.

"I'm glad to see you," Monica exclaimed with joy as she jumped off of the stage and ran over to Judas. He caught her and spun her around laughing. It was good to have their leader back to the way she used to be.

"Good to see you too, baby," he replied with a smile as he held her close. She pulled away from the hug and looked at him expectantly. It seemed to take him a little to realize what she was asking as he turned and motioned towards a seat in the audience.

"She fell asleep waiting for you," he told her as Monica's eyes landed on Kiri.

She stared at the child before her, sleeping on one of the seats with her teddy bear in hand. Judas' jacket acting as her blanket. She seemed so innocent despite everything that had happened to her. The world hadn't tainted her pure soul just yet, and Monica was grateful for it.

"You can leave now, tell Lucifer to bring my bike around when he has the chance," she told him as Judas nodded.

"I'll see you soon then, babe," he told her pulling her close and kissing her on the forehead. Monica hugged him in return, she loved the man dearly, she considered him family.

He pulled away and walked down the aisle, she heard the door close behind him before a shadow settled over her form. She didn't need to look by now to tell who it was. The Phantom towered behind her, his piercing gaze locked on the door where they boy had exited through. He quickly dismissed it however, he could tell she wasn't interested in him in a romantic manner; in fact she seemed to treat him like a brother.

He then turned his attention back to the child that slept on the seat in front of him. She resembled Monica in some ways, and in others he guessed she was more like her mother.

"Well, this is Kiri," Monica told him as he crouched down to view the little girl. As soon as he got a good look at her face his mind seemed to finally click, she had been the one to pull on his cloak the other night.

"I see," he replied as he stood to his full height once more, "what are you planning on doing with her," he told her as Monica thought about it.

"I can't wake her, let her dream," she replied as the Phantom nodded.

"We cannot leave her up here however," he added as Monica paused and thought about what he had just said, an idea clicked in her mind but she hesitated in telling him.

"Could you carry her down to the lair?" she asked quietly, he tensed slightly upon that request, seeing this Monica quickly added, "it will only be for tonight, I will take her to my house in the morning…" she begged as the Phantom considered what this might bring.

He paused before looking at Monica, he almost wished he hadn't. She looked back at him with pleading eyes; he looked away but not before his mind had been made up.

He sighed quietly before crouching and picking up the small child in his arms. He started to walk back before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned to look at Monica who smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you," she whispered as he nodded back and walked towards the entrance to the lower levels.

It took them a while to get back due to the extra weight the Phantom was carrying. When they finally arrived at the lair Monica stopped and yawned.

"There is a bed behind that door," the Phantom pointed out referring to his room. He really didn't want anyone in there, but upon realizing that Kiri would be sleeping on the bed in the Swan room he saw no other place to let Monica sleep.

"Thank you but-" Monica started before he cut her off.

"I'll take care of it, you do not wish to wake her, now do you?" he asked as Monica shook her head and turned her back to him walking tiredly towards the door he had pointed out.

She was so tired that she failed to notice the intricate door that she opened, had she been more awake she would have realized that the room she was about to enter was his.

She turned the blood red doorknob and stepped into pure blackness once more. She gave a shove to the door but failed to notice she left it open as she dragged her feet toward the bed. She collapsed on top of the soft bed and sighed with pleasure as the strong scent of roses filled her senses.

She pulled one of the many pillows to her and sighed in content. She drifted off almost instantly, still unaware that this was the Phantom's room, but grateful that he had let her sleep in such a marvelous bed.

The Phantom on the other hand watched her step into his room and fall quiet moments later. With that he walked over to the Swan room slowly trying not to disturb the sleeping child in his arms.

He crouched once he reached the bed and placed her gently on it. He took off the jacket that had been her blanket and replaced it with one of the silk sheets. He stopped to think as his eyes rested on her peaceful expression. She reminded him of his childhood, when everything had been different. She didn't have to go through all of the mocking that he had to endure, she was perfect just like Monica, beautiful…perfect. He closed his eyes trying to shake the memories of his childhood from his mind.

Before he knew it however he felt a small hand resting on top of his mask. How could he fail to notice she had woken up? How could he not hear her? All of these questions ran through his panicked mind. Before he had a chance to pull away however he felt Kiri pull the mask away from his face.

The whole lair seemed to go quiet as Kiri's eyes starred bewildered at the white mask in her hand. Her eyes blinked slowly as she stared at the intricately made mask, she then realized what she had done.

She forced her scared eyes to look up at the owner of the mask in her hand, and froze at the sight before her...

**Review...you know you want to with that ending ^ Let me know your thoughts on the story so far, like or hate? What do you think will happen next? Just review my dears :D**


	19. Macbeth

**Macbeth...**

**A/N: A little something to get our plot moving once more :D Enjoy!**

Jack ran desperately through the twisty alleyways of Paris, the roaring of motorcycles that echoed off of the walls haunted him. His frantic eyes tore through the path he was running through currently looking for a way out of his predicament.

"You're mine boy!" Stryker called from the road following Jack with calculating eyes, he was bound to run out of places to run and hide, he merely bid his time.

Jack picked up his pace, he had two of the most notorious bicker gangs after him, and he was quickly running out of ideas to keep them at bay. It wasn't until he recalled Lucy's house that he managed to utter a sigh of relief.

He turned sharply upon reaching another alley, the harsh movement causing him to ram straight into the wall of the path he was running through. He shook off the pain, his vision clouded due to the collision, none the less he stumbled through the dark paths the motorcycles halting abruptly unable to follow due to the tight space.

"Get off of your bikes and follow him! I want his head!" Lucifer roared parking his own bike and sprinting after Jack's retreating figure in the distance. He was followed by the two gangs, each holding different grudges towards the man in question.

Jack continued to run, patches of ice causing him to slip here and there but not enough to cause him to fall. His pursuers however were not so lucky; half of the men chasing him collided with the ground upon slipping on the ice. Judas and Joker amongst the unlucky few as they nodded the other members who stopped to check on them assuring them they would be fine, encouraging them to continue their chase.

"Come on, get your ass up," Joker laughed living up to his nickname offering a hand to Judas who managed to crack a smile at the older man. He took his hand and pulled himself up while rubbing his back.

"I'm going to feel that in the morning," Judas mumbled, he could tell Joker was in pain as well as they surveyed the damage. Several other members were down, and the two concentrated on helping their fallen comrades up.

"I hope they catch that bastard, I want to put in a few punches for what he's done to my girl," Judas commented when they were all up. Joker casting a glance at the man beside him, he couldn't agree more. He just wished that the dog didn't get lucky and escape the men chasing him. He brushed his gloved finger over his scar, and ran his tongue over his bottom lip.

"He has a debt to repay, and when they catch him I'll make sure he knows it," Joker growled biting the scar on his cheek from the inside as a searing pain tore through his body, he ignored it however until the familiar metallic flavor filled his mouth.

Judas glanced over at Joker, and while the scar suited the man, he couldn't help but feel more anger towards Jack as his eyes scanned the scar critically. Jack had been the cause of it after all, he had gotten in too deep with some men, and as a result when they had come to collect money Joker had taken the blow for Jack, or rather the beating. He had been too young for that kind of torture…that was Joker's answer when people asked him why he had stepped in for Jack. Too young and innocent, hell, he would take it all back if he only could.

"Insolent boy," Joker mumbled spitting out blood in rage while Judas shook of the sudden chill he had gotten and pulled his jacket around himself tighter.

They all heard a shot in the distance, and with one last glance at each other they both took off running towards the source of the loud crack hoping to find Jack injured and unable to move, or better yet dead.

Much to their disappointment when they arrived they witnessed Lucifer cursing, his gloved hands reloading his revolver angrily.

"Run while you can you lucky son of a bitch! Run!" Lucifer thundered much to everyone's dismay; they all stood a few feet away from the devil himself, his temper seething.

"I'm guessing he got away…" Judas commented trying to catch his breath, Gabriel and Logan merely nodding confirming his suspicions.

Turns out Jack had gotten away by climbing over the side of a building, Lucifer acting fast pulling his gun out and trying to shoot him down merely increased Jack's speed allowing him to get away unharmed.

"Damn," Judas mumbled trying to hold back his own rage upon losing the bastard in such a short time, he could only wonder where the rat would hide, "I guess were back to searching blindly," he added more loudly before Lucifer's gaze snapped over to him.

"I want someone around Monica whenever she goes out, I do not plan on letting him lay a finger on her again," he ordered straightening himself completely ignoring the rival gang members who were still trying to catch their breaths amongst his own men.

"You got it boss," Logan replied nodding pulling out his cellphone dialing Monica's number trying to get a hold on her to tell her to watch her back since Jack was still lose. Little did he know, he was just under their noses, banging on Lucy's door a couple of blocks away.

"God Jack not again!" Lucy scolded once he was safe inside of her house. She paced back and forth in front of him while he sat on her couch listening to her never-ending lecture, "what did you do this time? Kill her?" she asked, hoping that he would say yes.

"I would never," he snapped his green eyes following her every move; he could have sworn he saw disappointment flash through her eyes. But that couldn't be the case; she was friends with Monica…wasn't she?

"Let me guess then, she was with _him_?" Lucy asked catching Jack's attention. She had him where she wanted him; she knew he held a grudge towards the Phantom. If only he would take Monica out of the picture everything would be perfect, she would have the Phantom and he could have the harlot all to himself.

"Where else…" he replied his voice dripping with jealousy. He knew she was with the masked freak, but he would find a way to get her attention, to speak with her once more, to hold her like before and convince her to take him back.

"You know…there is a way to get her attention back to you," Lucy added slyly sitting next to him on the couch, her blond hair framing her face falling over her shoulder causing him to look at her with sudden interest, could she have possibly read his mind?

"What would that be?" he replied, by this time he was desperate, although he was trying not to show it. He wanted to see Monica; he wanted it so badly that he would do anything. Hearing Lucy out was his last resort.

"You take away what is most precious to her, and she will run right back into your arms," she replied coyly suddenly capturing all of his attention. He shifted in his spot and turned to look into her deep blue eyes. She held so many emotions in them that it was hard to tell if she meant good or ill.

"What are you suggesting we do," Jack hissed back at her sensing she meant more ill than good, his eyes locking with her own. She smiled sweetly at him; she would get her way no matter what he chose.

"We take Kirimi Van Buren," she whispered to him, her smile turning into a menacing grin. Jack stared back shocked at such a suggestion, he was capable of anything to win back her love, but kidnapping her brother's child…that seemed wrong, even for him.

"That's insane Lucy," Jack shot back dismissing her idea, but not before she had a say in it.

"Think of it this way, you won't really be kidnapping her, she knows you…trusts you," she started, his eyes back on her, "she would come willingly with the right words, when Monica notices she's gone, she'll assume someone took her, this is where you come in , love," she continued pointing to Jack, "you call her, and inform her that you rescued the brat from the bastard that kidnapped her, and she'll come back to you before the day ends," Lucy concluded. Jack stared back at her not knowing what to say.

He had known Lucy for years, and she had never struck him as the deceiving type, he was getting to know the real Lucy.

"She'll leave the Phantom, and you'll have your chance with her," Lucy added sensing he was slowly starting to agree with her, "just think of it Jack, she'll leave the monster you've grown to loathe and return to you…love you like she did before," she added as he looked down. He wanted her desperately and her plan was starting to sound good.

"Very well," Jack replied waving his hand as her eyes lit up, but not before he commented something that made her falter slightly, "but what's in it for you, because no one does things like these without some sort of payment," Jack questioned seeing Lucy's smile falter but quickly return.

"I don't want anything, I'm doing it because I love you both, and I think you deserve to be together," she replied, not too quickly to avoid raising suspicion, but also not too late to make it seem genuine. Truth be told all she wanted was for the whore to be away from her man so she could step in and take over.

She would kill the child if that's what it took, and while she was at it she would kill Monica as well to permanently eliminate all competition for the Opera Ghost. She really didn't see any flaws in her plan, and she was slowly loving the power she held over Jack, he would do anything for Monica…that would lead to everyone's downfall.

Monica didn't deserve the Phantom, she was a two-faced traitor, and a bitch who only cared about herself, Lucy on the other hand saw no flaws in herself. She was perfect for the Phantom in her eyes, and he was perfect for her.

She ran a hand through her blond hair and sighed in content, everything was going according to plan, there were only two things that could interfere, and she planned on taking those out as well, using Jack of course. She would never get her hands dirty, well; perhaps if it involved Monica then she might make an exception for her 'friend'.

In order for her plan to work she needed to take care one person before she sent Jack off to do her bidding, the man in question was Lucifer. The biker was too overprotective of Monica, and she hated him for it, she was the one who deserved to be protected by a gang of men, not Monica who could die in the streets for all she cared. She feared him the most, she would have to watch her back with the whole lot of bikers, but other than him she was sure she could take care of it by lying to them.

"_Her love is now the prize which you must earn_," she sang quietly to Jack as he started to doze off on her couch. Jack could have sworn he heard that tune from somewhere, the lyrics had been changed but he was sure he had heard it before, "_you've past the point of no…return_," she finished satisfied with herself as she watched him close his eyes, sound asleep.

She found herself thinking of the man of her dreams as she walked away towards her room, she kicked her dog out of the way, not as hard as she normally would since she was in a good mood. She started to ascend the stairs when a tune escaped her lips, "_All I want is freedom, a world with no more night…and you always beside me, to hold me and to hide me…" _she sang quietly, her whimpering dog along with sirens coming from the streets produced a sweet symphony of pain and betrayal that had yet to happen.

She smiled to herself, "Look like the innocent flower…but be the serpent underneath," she quoted satisfied with her work while she looked at herself in the mirror. She gazed at herself, content with the events that had led her to this point; she moved away from the mirror and fell back on her bed, drifting off into a restless sleep filled with nightmares of things past and things to come.

**What happened to all of my reviewers...oh god did the Phantom actually Punjab all of you! D: Review my dears, I want to know if there are still people reading this, if not whats the point in writting? You make my day when I see you review :D So unless you have been Punjabed by Erik, there is no reason for you not to review...do it, you know you want to!**


	20. Christine

**Christine...**

**A\N: Do forgive me for the delay, and for this chapter as well...I was so distraught when I recived a flame on one of my other stories the other day that I suddenly lost inspiration for this story. I quite literally sat myself down and managed to write this if only for those who reviewed, put it on alert added it to favorites...my sincere apologies dear readers and do forgive me if this chapter is not my best. I was horrified and read this story more than three times just to make sure it wasnt a complete failure...so let me know if it is worth continuing...**

The lair was oddly silent, a pin could have dropped and it would have sounded like the crescendo of a symphony. The Phantom sat frozen, a million emotions raging through him, hate, anger, horror, panic. The child before him holding the last defense he had against the world in her small hands, her eyes never leaving his stricken expression.

He would have been raging; he was amazed that he had remained still when she unmasked him. Yet, he knew the reason he wasn't storming around the lair, why he wasn't yelling at the child in front of him.

Monica.

She was the reason he was holding back on lashing out, on yelling his frustrations at the world. She was sleeping in his room, and the faintest commotion would wake her and cause her to come out. That would spill disaster for him, she would see his face as well, and that was the last thing he wanted.

Kiri sat in front of him, mask in hand, her eyes wide as they stared at what he had been hiding the whole time. She couldn't help but be somewhat relived at what she found, for it caused her to remember her mother.

"_So look with your heart,_

_And not with your eyes,_

_The heart understands…_

_The heart never lies._

_Believe what it feels,_

_And trust what it shows,_

_Look with your heart,_

_The heart always knows._

_Love is not always beautiful…_

_Not at the start…"_

Her mother's voice sang in her head, and slowly a smile spread through her features. She now understood her mother when she had sang that melody to her. She had asked why her fraulein loved Joker's scar so much, why she thought it was the one thing that set him apart from the rest of the world, the thing that made him unique.

The Phantom stared back dumbfounded when the child before him smiled at him, his mind seemed to screech to a halt. There was something about the little girl in front of him that reminded him of himself when he had been her age, perhaps it was her large hopeful eyes eager to see the world, or her calm expression. He couldn't quite place it.

"Monsieur, you remind me of Joker," she laughed quietly as his jaw nearly dropped in pure shock. Truth be told he was surprised that he wasn't dead due to the child staring up at him. Her laugh danced around him, it wasn't the mocking type of laughter that he was used to. No, this one was authentic, and for the first time in centuries, not directed at his deformed face.

"The fraulein loves his scar! I think she would love you too!" her voice added catching his attention. He resisted the urge to laugh. Monica…she would never love a monster like him, never. He couldn't fathom Kiri's way of thinking, but the child sounded so sure of herself that he found himself wanting to believe what she was telling him.

Upon seeing his blank expression Kiri immediately stopped laughing and panicked jumping up to her feet on top of the bed, mask still in hand.

"I think you're beautiful," she giggled stretching out her hand offering him the white prop. She meant every word she had told him, she couldn't see why she loathed his face when it made him different form everyone else.

One of a kind.

He could only stare at the girl in front of him in disbelief, and admiration. Never had anyone said something like that to him, never had anyone complimented his deformity. He could tell she was related to Monica, for she held compassion that was scarce now a days.

He took the mask carefully, afraid of her crying out in horror upon seeing his face, he wasn't used to this kind of reaction, for he had never experienced it before. She continued to smile at him and all he could do was put the mask back on hurriedly.

He rose stiffly, avoiding the Kiri's gaze and started to leave before her voice caused him to halt in the doorway.

"My mami would still love you monsieur, even more without your mask," she called after him, his gaze dropping to the floor as he stepped out of the swan room. Leaving Kiri to continue her sleep, he knew she would not wake again.

He stumbled over to the organ and collapsed on the bench, a single silver tear rolling down the side of his face. He sat there and let out all of his bottled up emotions loose, all of the pain, regret, anger, and frustration came out as he sobbed quietly fearing to wake either of the women in the lair. Memories of Christine haunted his thoughts, of the Viscount, and even of Madame Giry. It was all happening again, and it would surely end like it had last time, with his muse deserting him leaving his heart broken.

Why had she told him that…why couldn't she just scream in horror like the rest? That would have certainly made his life easier; he would have known how to cope with a situation like that. He didn't know what to do now, where to go, who to turn to. Kiri's voice tormented him, _'Mami would still love you…even more without your mask,' _he sneered knowing that was nothing but a lie.

Perhaps Kiri had seen something else when she glimpsed his deformed face, a child could always comprehend, always forgive and look past other peoples flaws. A full grown person or woman in this case, however could not. He would never allow her to see his face, he didn't want another Christine. He couldn't possibly bare the loss of another muse; he wanted her to love him. But deep down he knew she never would.

His thoughts were brought to a disturbing halt when he felt a hesitant hand on his shoulder. His head snapping to the side to see who it had been, after all, he had made sure Kiri was asleep before sitting down on the bench.

"Phantom?" Monica's voice asked sleepily, as she woke shortly after seeing his grief stricken face. She sat next to him on the bench and looked at his face, trying to get him to make eye contact. On the other hand he was avoiding her eyes; he didn't want to see her, to feel her touch, or to hear her comforting words. He didn't want to have anything to do with her, for he knew she would leave sooner or later. He had gotten in way too deep with Christine, and that had led to his downfall.

"I had a bad dream…I got up to get a glass of water," she explained but quickly noticed that he was ignoring her completely. That angered her beyond comprehension, she wanted to know what was wrong, she wanted him to know that she was there for him to talk to. Her hand rose to caress the side of his exposed cheek, and immediately the Phantom froze.

"Did I do something wrong?" she whispered to him, pained that he was still avoiding her. He seemed fine hours ago when they had arrived at the lair. He seemed different now, like his darker side had finally come out.

His eyes shot over to look at her; he resisted the urge to laugh. If she only knew what was eating away at him…

"Why are you still here?" he asked before thinking as she recoiled instantly. She took great insult to that simple question and he could see he had made a mistake in asking it.

"Do you want me to leave? Does my presence bother the great Opera Ghost?" she shot back hurt, backing away from him slowly. Did he not want her there? Was she truly that useless…did she merely get in his way?

He instantly winced as soon as the words left her lips, "I never meant it like that," he snapped back as she narrowed her gaze at him calculatedly. By this time they were sitting on the opposite ends of the bench in front of the organ.

"Then what did you mean by asking such an absurd question?" she asked carefully examining his every move and expression their voices escalating slowly as they both rose from the bench into a standoff.

Of course he towered over her, and he was intimidating to say the least, but she held her ground stubbornly. Metallic blue clashed with chocolate brown as both refused to look away. He wanted to know why she was still here, why she still found his presence comforting. On the other hand she merely wanted to know what had caused his sudden change in emotions, one moment he was compassionate and the next demanding answers to things she couldn't explain herself.

For a brief moment she caught sight of doubt flashing through his eyes, and immediately she knew what he had been pondering while she slept. Her mouth dropped open and her brows furrowed in anger at him comparing her to Christine once more. No matter what she did, he would always compare her to his angelic soprano, always.

"I'm here because I care! I'm not here to become a prima donna or the ballerina of the century, and I would never ask such a thing from you! I'm not here to steal your music or your operas…and I'm certainly not here to give you false hopes! I could have left if I wanted to! We're not all the same! And for the last time…IM NOT CHRISTINE! " she cried feeling her heart sink upon realizing that he had thought of her in that manner the whole time.

He flinched as she stormed over to him, accusing him of comparing her to the soprano he had loved long ago. He found himself admitting that he had thought of her like that, and it surprised him that she had caught on. He opened his mouth to at least try to deny what she was accusing him of doing, but she continued to point out little details that were hard to deny.

"Look if that's all I am to you, I might as well leave," she mumbled after she had calmed down, he merely stood motionless unable to say or do anything after receiving blow after blow of accusations. He had to admit they were all true, he didn't know if he would ever get over Christine. The wound she had caused him would never truly heal, deep down he knew she was always in the back of his mind.

Before any of them could shoot back another hurtful comment a bottle smashing against the floor startled them both causing them to turn towards the various tunnels that ran under the Opera Populair. A curse followed the shattering glass, and Monica knew who it was by the sound of his voice.

With her attention away from the Phantom he too stopped his argument with her and paused to listen as well.

"Oh god…Jack?" Monica called knowing he was wandering the tunnels. She felt the air around her dance and before she knew it the Phantom was gone in a ruffle of clothes and heavy footsteps. She knew he had gone after Jack and couldn't begin to fathom why he had come looking for her at the Opera House of all places. She panicked knowing if the Phantom found Jack it would surely mean death for the ex-biker. That being said she looked in the direction the Opera Ghost had run off too, not only would he kill Jack for what he had done to her…he would surely take out his frustrations on him as well.

"Phantom! Phantom!" she called after him desperately but all she received for a reply were his quick footsteps and the snap of his cloak. The Punjab lasso scraping against the stone floors. She ran after him hoping she wasn't too late, hoping Jack was still alive.

She darted after his shadow leaving the lair behind as they both descended deeper and deeper into the catacombs where more traps and dead ends were waiting to greet them…

**Review.**


	21. Raoul

**Raoul...**

**A\N: Im glad to hear that this story is worth continuing, like I said before, I wasnt so sure of it myself. Thank you for all the positive reviews, I love you all! I hope this chapter is to your liking, enjoy!**

The Phantom stalked the tunnels of the catacombs pausing every now and then to hear for any signs of the boy that had interrupted him for the last time. He snapped the Punjab lasso causing the disturbing sound to echo throughout the corridors, he grinned despite himself knowing in mere seconds he would have his revenge.

He could hear the other idiot stumbling a few more tunnels in front of him, with that he picked up the pace ignoring the fact that he had stormed away from Monica seconds ago. Of course he would have liked to explain to her why he had asked such a question, but now that didn't matter. He completely shut off any thoughts relating to his muse and concentrated on the task at hand.

The smell of wet dirt filled his senses as he stopped and looked around near a four way crossing. He paused to smell the air briefly and followed the scent of alcohol until he finally found what he had been looking for the whole time.

Jack stood a few feet away from the fuming Opera Ghost near the edge of the river that ran under the Opera Populair, his green eyes locking with the Phantom's own metallic blue. The younger man faltering as he stepped back slightly narrowly avoiding the fall into the water inches from where he stood.

The Phantom merely stood still watching his every move, his eyes never leaving the biker's own horrified pair.

"What do you want? An explanation for what I did? Should I start to beg for my life?" Jack spat venomously eyeing his rival who merely remained still. The stare of the ghost was starting to unnerve him, and slowly but surely he was starting to regret coming to the Opera House in the first place.

"She got what she deserved! She chose you over me!" Jack snarled as the Phantom tilted his head curiously, "she threw her life away for your sake! I could have killed her that day…I could have killed her," he added lowly hating the older man for stealing Monica away from him.

The Phantom remained silent, his jaw clenched tightly, why was it that everyone thought she was in love with a monster? Such a cruel lie only seemed to fuel his anger towards the boy in front of him, how could he lay his hands on what was his? How dare he….

"Why does she love you?" the Phantom found himself asking the younger man out loud. He couldn't fathom why Monica loved the man in front of him…perhaps she still did. He couldn't bare it if that was the case.

"I don't know…I treated her so horribly," Jack admitted reminding the Phantom of what he had done. No sooner had the words escaped the biker's mouth that the Punjab lasso was sent towards his neck and pulled tightly. He choked and stumbled towards the owner of the lasso; before he could even begin to recover he was greeted with a monstrous blow to the side of his face that sent him reeling a few feet back.

The Phantom sneered when his fist collided with the boy's cheek, he was far from done. He had caused severe damage on his muse; he would make sure that he felt the pain that she had felt thousand fold.

Jack groaned in pain as he held his broken nose, blood oozing out as he drew back his bloodstained hand and laughed slightly. He deserved this and more, he had done the same to Monica, put her through the same pain.

The Phantom resisted the urge to simply crush the boy's neck when he heard him laugh, but that could wait. He walked over to his hunched form and used his boot to push him back. Jack landed painfully on his back and groaned before spitting out blood once more. He felt like he was reliving what he had done to his angel, except he was on the receiving end this time. He welcomed the pain, for he knew he had done worse with Monica.

He placed his boot on Jack's chest and sneered once more before he started to apply pressure. The body beneath him squirming when he refused to lessen the crushing pressure, sure enough he started to hear the satisfying cracks as Jack's ribs broke one by one. The Phantom counted…one, two, three…the exact number he had fractured on Monica.

Jack howled in pain as he felt his bones start to break, his body tossed and turned desperately trying to get away from the aggressor to no avail. After three bones being broken however he stopped, Jack resisted the urge to laugh once more. He was getting back at him for what he had done to Monica, the bastard.

The Phantom merely moved on to one of his arms and viewed it carefully before placing his boot on his elbow and resuming what he had started. Jack clawed at the Opera Ghost's foot with his free hand as the bones in his arm started to break as well, the symphony of cracks only encouraging the Phantom as he applied more pressure earing himself a scream of pain from Jack.

The tears flowed freely from his face as he heard his bones break, screams escaped his lips as the Phantom reached down and seized him by his neck pulling him up while dragging him to the edge of the river.

He held the boy in his grasp in a two feet death grip, his eyes showing nothing but loathing at the man before him before he found himself singing out his frustrations:

"_She looked for sympathy,_

_You gave her sorrow,_

_She asked for honesty,_

_You've none to borrow._

_She needed your tender kiss,_

_She begged it of you,_

_You gave her ugliness,_

_Why does she love you...?_

_She yearns for higher things,_

_Things you can't give her,_

_The rush that music brings…_

_You can't deliver._

_And even when she sings,_

_And soars above you,_

_You try to clip her wings,_

_Why does she love you…?_

_Beneath that mask you wear,_

_There's nothing of you,_

_Just horror, shame, despair…_

_Why does she love you…?"_

The Phantom couldn't help but snarl the last few lines as the boy in his grasp choked due to the Phantom increasing the pressure. He didn't understand why she had run after him begging him to come back, why she had persuaded him to leave the boy be. Perhaps she still loved him, still wanted him. She had saved him from the Opera Ghost's wrath once before, but why?

Before he could continue his thoughts or finish killing the boy a bloodcurdling scream reached his ears causing him to frown upon realizing who it belonged to. His eyes changed drastically as they went from their raging state to a more panicked and horrified mode.

He prayed that she had not fallen into one of his traps, but as much as he begged and hoped he knew that had been the case. He shouldn't have left her; he shouldn't have allowed her to follow him. He cursed her for being so compassionate, for caring whether the dog in his grasp lived or died.

He couldn't afford to waste more time with the boy when she was suffering, he couldn't possibly bare to hear her scream once more.

"You are lucky, this is the second time she has saved you…the next time I will not hesitate to kill you," he growled in Jack's face, "may the river finish what I could not," he barked before hurling Jack into the raging water.

He didn't even bother in checking to see if the boy resurfaced, he merely rushed towards the sounds of her desperate sobs. The cries were getting fainter and fainter as he walked desperately through the runnels wishing to find her already.

He paused to hear for her weak voice but heard nothing. A disturbing silence surrounded him.

"Angel I hear you, speak I listen, stay by my side, guide me…" he begged her wishing to hear her voice. That alone would guide him and allow him to reach her.

"Phantom!" she cried desperately, her horrified voice echoing through the walls as he turned towards the sound and took off in that direction. He couldn't fathom why he had left her alone in the tunnels, he knew this would happen. The deeper you went into the catacombs the more infested it became with fatal traps and dead ends. He hoped the damage wasn't as bad as he imagined.

He turned a corner sharply and finally found her as his eyes landed on her shaking form on sitting on the ground, a pool of blood around her ankle as he rushed to her side.

Monica nearly cried out with joy as she saw the Phantom come around the corner, she held out a bloodied hand as he took it and crouched next to her resisting and urge to groan out his frustrations. She had landed in one of his primitive traps, but painful nonetheless.

The bear trap lay closed around her ankle as it tore her flesh and clamped down on her bones. He moved forward and stared at her, he merely received a weak nod from her before he pried the trap open allowing her to slip her ankle loose with a pained cry.

He let the trap snap shut after she was free from it and moved over to her form once more. He collected her trembling body in his arms and carried her bridal style through the tunnels hoping to reach the lair quickly.

"Put me down, I'll stain your clothes!" she exclaimed hitting his chest weakly as he laughed lightly.

"That is the least of my concern at the moment," he replied as she grimaced when her ankle moved slightly before burying her face in the ruffles of his shirt trying to hold back a scream of pain.

"Hey…you've never told me your name," she told him weaker than before fighting off the need to sleep at the moment.

The Phantom glanced down at her, her eyes clouded over from the pain, he didn't think she would remember anything when she woke up so he decided to tell her, "Erik," he told her quietly, "my name is Erik," he confessed as she smiled at him.

"Beautiful name, it fit's its owner," she told him slurring the last words before dropping her head on his chest once more completely unconscious. He merely increased the pace at which he was going and glanced down at her from time to time to make sure she was alright.

This day had proved to be more than he expected, but he wasn't going to start to complain either.

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	22. Meg

**Meg  
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**A.N: A short but sweet chapter, I have to be in a foul mood to write for the next chapter, and I was feeling too happy to write it today so I decided to write this filler instead to soften the blow of the next one, I felt like it wasnt my best chapter yet, so let me know what you think my dears :P Oh and on a sidenote, I wrote this without spellcheck so pardon if some words are spelled incorrectly...this isnt my computer and I find it rather odd to be writing on it in the first place, it has such a strange keyboard lmao. Anyway, enjoy.**

Monica tossed and turned, the air around her smothered her causing her to throw the sheets around her to the side. She whined slightly, her eye cracking open slowly as she looked around. Blackness surrounded her causing panic to kick in, she picked her head up and looked around hopelessly.

She felt a sharp pain around her ankle, her hand travled down to where the soure was to find bandages wrapped around the damanged area. She grimaced as she remembered the events that had led her here.

Her scared eyes darted around searching for anything to light the room in which she found herself in. She decided to try to get up and walk to see if there was a door leading out of the room, but instantly felt her foot collapsing under her.

She cried out in pain ready to hit the floor due to her lack of balance, her arms flailed hopelessly trying to catch her body before two arms caught her before she could fall to the floor.

"What do you think you are doing?" a voice asked harshly as she winced inwardly feeling she had done something wrong. She dropped her head as strands of hair fell over her face in a disorderly fashion.

"I was trying to get up," she replied quietly holding her weight up with her unharmed foot. She could hear him snort in disbelief despite the pain she was feeling and she dropped her head once more.

"Where would you go in your condition?" he asked her once more, his grip tightening slighlty around her arms causing her to flinch. He noticed this but refused to lessen the pressure he was applying .

"Anywhere but here, I cant see anything," she replied in a monotone voice, a laugh reached her ears and she could feel his chest vibrating with the action. She looked around one more trying to see if her eyes had adjusted to the dark room. She was greeted with nothing but darkness yet again.

"Does the darkness bother you?" he chuckled slightly eyeing her form. Unlike her he could see very clearly despite it being pitch dark. This was his room after all, it would be absurd if he were to be stumbling around in his own home.

He was expecting to hear her tell him that she loathed the dark, everyone did. Few people could see the true beauty underneath all of it. They related it to evil things, murderers, crimes. Sure all of that was true, but nighttime was otherworldly when you saw if from a different perspective.

"No, but I cant see a thing, I cant even see you...how pathetic is that?" she replied causing him to take her expression in once more. She wasnt panicked like she had been when she woke, an odd expression graced her features, an unnerving calmness eminated from her causing him to lessen his grip slightly.

Most people were uncomfortable in his presence, fearful at the very least. What was wrong with the woman in his arms. He just couldnt understand her, he probably never would.

"What was going through your mind when you went after me?" he scolded remembering the reason he was in this predicament in the first place. Her eyes closed briefly before she opened them once more.

Her hand travled up his vest until it reached the side of his exposed face, "I couldnt live with myself if you killed him," she replied caressing his cheek as he leaned into her touch before being brought back to reality by something that had been eating away at him.

"Do you still love him?" he asked backing away from her slightly, his grip loosenig even more. She could feel his lips drop slightly and she moved forward despite her injured foot.

"Do you still love her? After all she did to you, can you find it in yourself to forgive someone who has done so much damage?" she asked answering his question with another of her own. His eyes dropped slightly as well, she had a point.

Christine had done so much damage to him already, she had nearly killed his ability to compose when she chose the fop over him, she had nearly killed him when she rejected his offer and returned his ring. His heart wouldnt stop aching due to her abscense, for years he was left to rot down in the catacombs once more, he couldnt even fathom how he had survived.

"I do not love her," he managed to admit, Monica merely remained silent. She had expected him to say he still loved the soprano, that he always would. What had caused his sudden change in feelings?

"That's my point, I did love him at one time, but after what he did...I can no longer feel the same towards him," she told him, "but he does not deserve to die..." she added sparking a flame within the Phantom.

"Look at what he has done to you, how dare you say he does not deserve to die!" he snarled at her pulling her back to him when she made a move to back away from him. He shook her slightly, her hair brushing against his hand slightly as he stopped himself upon seeing her expression. She stared back bewildered, her hair, if possible, more dishelved than before.

"Look at what she did to you," she told him calmly, "you turned your back on the world, and stopped composing," she snapped before continuing, "that is a sin far greater than my own," she told him calmly once more. "I wallowed in self pity for a while, but Im not that important to the world, I dont compose, I dont sing, I dont paint, I dont do anything that could be worth preserving, my life woudlnt be grieved as much as someone who has ofered the world far more than it deserves," she finalized dropping her hand from his face much to his dissapoinment.

"You dance," he stated simply causing her to glance at him in shock.

"Excuse me?" she asked him amazed at what he had just told her.

"You are a dancer," he stated once more as he mouth dropped open.

"How did you know?" she asked surprised that he had managed to find out. She couldnt come to the conclusion on how he had discovered that, but it was too late to try and cover it now.

"When I was bandaging your ankle, I could tell, dancer's feet are always delicate and beautifuly shaped," he told her earining a blush out of her. She danced, that was a fact she couldnt even try to deny it, but no one had ever been able to tell just by looking at her feet.

She didnt even bother in replying, he could tell by her struck expression he had hit the mark. It was true after all, while he had bandaged her up he had noticed how her feet were shaped, he hadnt seen that type of form since Madame Giry and Meg. Perhaps there was something he could do to improve her skill to surpass their own.

He had so many things to teach her, he would make her surpass Chrisine and Meg, he owed her that much. She had done so much for him, and he had done so little for her, that was the least he could do.

"It is late, you should get some sleep before the child wakes," he told her leading her over to his bed once more. She didnt protest, she felt tired.

"Listen, she's been going on about going to a circus, I dont supose you would know of a really good one, would you?" she asked him settling back down on his bed, the scent of roses filling her senses once more.

"I do, I shall take you there tomorrow," he replied quite confidently. After all, he was the owner of the sideshow attraction. No other circus could or would rival his own, for it was the best in the world, that much he was sure of.

Monica was surprised when he told her he knew of one, she had always thought he never went outside of the Opera House, perhaps she was wrong. With that thought she settled down on his bed once more and sighed in discontent.

"Erik, could you stay with me, I dont like to stay here by myself when its this dark," she asked him before he reached the door. He sighed, he knew if he turned around he would stay with her once his eyes landed on her own pleading pair. He tried with all of his strenght to ignore her request, but like he had stated before, there was nothing she could ask for that he could ever refuse. She had used his name, he didnt think she would remember, but that alone got him to look at her once more, instantly his body moved towards her form on the bed.

He sat next to her on an armchair he had next to the bed. He closed his eyes not really expecting to get any sleep tonight before he felt a hand on his arm. He opened his eyes slowly and glaced at Monica who was smiling at him from her positon on the bed.

"I dont know how many times Ive said this, but thank you," she whispered to him before taking her hand back and settling into a more confortable position on his bed. He stared at her until she drifted off to sleep and even then he continued to look at her.

He stood and brushed a strand of gravity-defying hair from her face and tossed it back into place gently before crouching to examine her sleeping expression more closely.

"It is I who should be thanking you," he whispered more to himself than to her as he stood and headed towards the chair once more, "you saved me from this black despair," he commented running his hand over the petals of a rose he had found on his counter before settling back down into the chair.

"Do not tear me apart like she did, that is all I ask of you," he finalized crushing the rose in his palm remmbering that fateful night up on the rooftop. He let the dead petals fall to he ground followed by the stem of the flower. He looked at her once last time before closing his eyes and attempting to sleep before the sun rose tomorrow.

He had a lot of work ahead of him..

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	23. Madame Giry

**Unworthy...**

**A\N: Well here it is, a bit longer than the last let me know what you think! **

**Oh and on a sidenote to Elssiana: I love reviews like yours, I find them extremely helpful! There are just some people who leave rude reviews, but yours was the complete opposite, thanks love! **

**Enjoy!**

Lucy waited impatiently outside of the Opera House tapping her foot impatiently; Jack should have been back a while ago. What if he blew his cover? What if the Phantom caught him? She growled lowly and pushed the thoughts away, her plan could not fail. Even if he did get caught, Monica wouldn't stand to see him die at the hands of the Opera Ghost.

She sighed once more and pulled her coat around her small form trying to warm her body up. The freezing air seemed to increase its force blowing her straightened blond hair back. She huffed in agitation and ran her gloved fingers through it trying to tame it back into place.

She had sent Jack in to find out where the Phantom's infamous lair lay; surely he wasn't that incompetent to fail such a simple task. After a while however she grew restless, her lips were starting to chap and her fingers were going numb.

To top it all off it started to snow, large snowflakes fell from the clouded sky getting caught in her hair increasing her frustration. Her straightened hair started to turn into more wild curls that she tried to hide constantly. She hated her natural hair, it was so common now a days.

"Come on, Jack," she whispered worriedly expecting the biker to step through the large wooden doors of the entrance. Her blue eyes were locked intently on the Opera Populair, waiting for him to come out.

A hand grasped her shoulder causing her to jump and cry out in surprise before she turned around. Jack stood before her, soaking wet and bleeding everywhere. His chest heaved despite the broken ribs that made it difficult to breathe. His unharmed hand held the other broken one while his nose still oozed out blood.

"Oh god, what happened to you," Lucy asked caressing his cheek before he grimaced and coughed out blood staining her glove. She frowned upon seeing him in such a beat up state before she remembered they were in the middle of winter and he was standing out in the open with drenched clothes.

"The Phantom," Jack told her weakly as she took his arm and draped it over her shoulders acting as his support as she lead him towards her car. Every step she took was slow, fearing that she would only hurt him further. His body shook uncontrollably; his hair was starting to freeze over by the time they reached the warmth of her car.

"He did this to you?" she asked incredulously helping him into the car before closing the door; she rushed to get inside as well. She closed the door after her and turned the heat up as high as it could go before heading over to the hospital.

"I knocked over a damn bottle in one of the tunnels, it didn't help that I'd had a couple of drinks before I went in, he tracked me down quite easily," he hissed through gritted teeth squirming in the seat unable to find relief from the constant pain his body was in.

"But, how did you get out?" Lucy asked stepping on the gas as she passed a red light in her rush to get Jack medical help. She kept glancing at him constantly to make sure he was still conscious, blood ran down the side of his lips and dripped down to stain his clothes.

"He threw me into the river," Jack laughed before cutting off the laugh with a pained groan upon feeling his broken ribs protest, "that was his mistake, the river ran through the city so I swam out of it with a little bit of difficulty," he explained as she nodded. She couldn't even begin to understand the pain he must have been going through when he swam out of the river. She merely thanked god that it wasn't frozen over or else he wouldn't even be in the car with her.

"Did you find out where his lair was?" Lucy asked impatiently, if he hadn't found the location then the whole escapade would have been in vain. Jack turned his head to look at her with a grin that could have made the devil proud.

"Of course I did, and Kiri was there," he replied before coughing up more blood. She frowned once more upon seeing all of the blood that he was losing and stepped on the gas pedal with more force.

Good.

Her plan was going according to plan, now all they needed was to catch not only Monica but the Phantom off guard and take the child. That shouldn't be too difficult, after all Jack had been through it would be absurd to call it off now.

She would wait for the right moment to strike; in the meantime Jack could recover. With that thought a smile formed on her ruby lips, tonight had been worth the wait.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Laughter filled the room causing Monica to wake suddenly. She paused to listen and realized it was Kiri who was producing the noise. She rubbed her aching head and swung her legs over the bed carefully avoiding to further damage her ankle she stood slowly. The door to the room in which she found herself in had been left open just a crack to let the light from the lair illuminate it.

She silently thanked the Phantom for that and proceeded to limp to the doorway slowly. She opened the large door and stopped to look at the sight before her.

Kiri stood near the organ with the Phantom's cloak draped over her small shoulders as her small arms attempted to swish it like the Opera Ghost had done so many times before. The Phantom sat in his armchair watching the child intently, he was impressed that she could even pick up the heavy cloak let alone swish it.

"Monsieur I can't do it!" Kiri cried desperately attempting to swing the cloak once more but failing none the less. The Phantom stood from his chair and walked behind Kiri, had Monica not known him as she did she would have panicked upon seeing such a large man behind her brother's only child. She remained quiet however and resisted the urge to laugh at the sight, the Phantom's frame made Kiri look like a small porcelain doll that children used to play with.

"You have to twist your wrist when you do it," the Phantom whispered to her crouching behind her and taking her small hand into his large gloved one. He nodded to her when she looked back questioningly and attempted to swish the large cloak once more.

The Phantom had it all timed and flicked his wrist while holding her arm earing the desired effect she had wished for as the cloak danced in the air. She beamed at the achievement and turned to look at the masked man who watched her proudly.

"Now I'm like you!" she exclaimed happily running around with his cloak still on swishing it from time to time. The Phantom sighed and shook his head, what had he gotten himself into, now she would never quit swishing the cloak.

"How come I never got to do that?" Monica asked limping over to a table for support as he stood stiffly unaware that she had been watching the whole time. He turned to look at her before raising one of his brows questioningly.

"You got to play my organ, that is far better than learning how to swish a cloak," he replied calmly bringing a blush to her cheeks when she recalled the brief lesson he had taught her. Her eyes followed him as he walked towards her and only to stop a few feet away.

"How do you feel?" he asked motioning over to her ankle as she looked down briefly before returning her gaze to his haunting orbs.

"I'm fine, it's just hard to walk," she confessed sitting at the table tiredly. She continued to watch Kiri as she searched for something before the Phantom crouched in front of her. He stretched out his hand expectantly like before. She stared at him bewildered before understanding and moving her leg so that her foot rested on his knee. He took her ankle carefully and started to undo the bandage to check on the wound and change the bandages.

He made sure he had his gloves on this time however. The first time he had been forced to treat her wound he had done it with his bare hands, the feeling of her skin under his touch was far too tempting, and he wasn't sure he could continue to restrain himself when she landed herself in such predicaments.

Monica watched as he hesitantly put his hand on her ankle, she hissed in pain causing him to stop before continuing. He reined himself in; he wouldn't lose his self-control now. He bandaged her up as quick as he possibly could and removed his hands from her slowly fearing to lose himself to her at the moment.

He could still feel his flesh burning from the previous contact he had with he own skin, it had taken all of his will to let her go then, and it was getting harder each day when he had her so close.

"Something wrong? You're not going to have to cut it off…right?" she asked horrified upon seeing his straight face. He glanced at her blankly before he was brought back down to earth when she removed her leg form his knee brushing it against his own accidentally.

"No, unless you would like me to," he told her as a smile stretched across her lips. She was going to kill him one of these days, that much he was sure of. He wanted to feel her skin once more, he wanted to feel the burning sensation she caused whenever she had any sort of contact with him.

He was sure that she didn't love the boy anymore, so what was holding him back? He couldn't bring himself to do anything; he was horrified of how she might react. He was still a monster no matter what she said to comfort him, and she was still an angel no matter what she said to deny it.

Such a union was bound for disaster from the beginning; Christine had been a fine example of that. He didn't want to risk it all, only to lose her once more.

Monica stared back at him, she could see the internal turmoil he was going through, and much like him she was thinking of the same thing. She wanted to feel his hands on her again, she had to restrain herself form begging it of him when he stopped bandaging her ankle. She had denied Jack for his sake, why couldn't he see that she needed him just as he needed her.

She needed to feel his protective hold, and yet he restrained himself every time. He turned away every time she got to close, and drew away whenever she made contact with him. It made her think that she wasn't enough for him, that she wasn't worthy of his attention.

He could do better, oh so much better than her. Perhaps he didn't want her like she wanted him, after all she didn't have any special features to her, she had the most common eye color in the world and the most common hair. She wasn't special in any way, and she could understand him when he shunned her.

It was always one step forward and two steps back with the Phantom, she could never get far enough to see what he really thought of her. She couldn't give him what he deserved, and it was killing her. He deserved a better woman; someone beautiful, with blond hair and blue eyes with a model's body, her own frame was the same as Christine's which was also common.

"Fraulein, Monsieur Phantom, look!" Kiri called catching both of them off guard as they turned to look at her. She had the Red Death mask on, god only knew how she had found it amongst the piles of sheet music, fastened to her small head and a black fedora to top the look off.

Monica laughed lightly upon seeing the Phantom's large mask on her small face; she held it up with her hand every time it started to slip as she did the cloak swish again. The Phantom couldn't even believe his eyes; this child had so much in common with him that it was unearthly.

"Fraulein, are we still going to the circus?" she asked innocently removing the mask causing her chocolate curls to fall out of place. Monica turned to look at the Phantom questioningly. He nodded back to her before she turned to look at Kiri.

"Yes, but you aren't going anywhere dressed like that," Monica laughed pointing to the cloak and hat. Kiri frowned before removing the pieces of her newly made costume and handing them over to the Phantom sadly.

The Phantom took them back gratefully since he would be needing them tonight if they were to go anywhere before Kiri's face lit up again. She stared at him expectantly as Monica looked at her in a confused manner.

"Monsieur, can you do the cloak swish?" Kiri asked excitedly nearly bursting at the seams with anticipation. The Phantom looked at her before glancing over at Monica who in turn looked at him expectantly as well.

He sighed before he got a hold of the side of his cloak and flicked his wrist, his cloak cut through the air gracefully leaving both women amazed before Kiri clapped at him followed by Monica. He waited till they were done to look around for the tunnel he had his mind on.

He led the two women through the lair till they reached then entrance of a tunnel that led under the city to where he currently had the circus performing. Kiri raced past them before Monica paused before entering.

"You seize to amaze me," she told him shaking her head at him before he replied.

"May I never lose my charm then," he told her taking her hand and kissing it lightly before he let the curtain fall behind him surrounding them in darkness. Monica took a hold of his arm to avoid losing her balance as he led them through the dark tunnels slowly.

**Review!**


	24. Carlotta!

**Carlotta  
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**A/N: Not a short chappie I admit, but it will lighten the blow of the next one since Lucy meets...you guessed it! The Phantom :3 lmao Enjoy!**

Kiri raced through the tunnels towards the light at the end, her excitement all most too much for her small body to handle. Her chocolate curls danced in the air after falling from the tight ponytail Beatrice had made for her. She looked back occasionally to see Monica and the Phantom following her a few feet behind.

Bright lights engulfed her as she stepped out of the tunnel, red, yellow, blue, any color she could think of seemed to swallow her as her eyes gazed at the large tarp in front of her. The man standing near the entrance cast her a weary look before the Phantom stepped out of the tunnel as well and walked over to the small child before she got herself into trouble.

"Master! What brings you here?" the man asked taking his eyes off of the child in front of him poking her head over his side to get a better view of what lay inside. The Phantom glanced at her briefly before his eyes glazed over as he looked at the man in front of him.

"I come occasionally, that should not strike you as odd," the Phantom replied as Monica stood next to him with Kiri now in her arms looking around nervously. The man at the entrance cast her a look as well before the Phantom retaliated with one of his own once he caught the man in the act.

"Pardon me, master," the man mumbled stepping aside as the Phantom nodded towards Kiri who bounded into the tarp in a fit of giggles. Monica looked after her worriedly and started to follow before the Phantom stopped her with a movement of his hand.

"She will be looked after, you do not need to worry," he told her calmly as she bit her lip and looked after Kiri's small form before looking around once more once she caught a sight of the people entering the circus.

She instantly panicked.

A woman passed by with a fan in her hand dressed in what Monica could only guess was the most expensive coat and dress she had ever seen. Her hair was bound with diamonds, while the man accompanying her wore a tuxedo that was probably worth hundreds.

The couple looked at Monica from head to toe and snickered as the woman whispered something to her companion before walking towards the entrance of the tarp.

A blush crept up to Monica's cheeks as she noticed more upper class people arrive and pass by her giving her looks of disapproval. She found herself stepping closer to the Phantom and using his shoulder as cover before he looked back at her with disapproval.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked her moving away from her blowing her cover as she sighed uncomfortably and dropped her face in her hands upon sensing more people criticizing her look.

"I don't belong here, what made you think I would fit in!" she whispered angrily as the man at the entrance whistled at someone when the Phantom nodded at him. Monica exchanged glances between the Phantom and the man before she felt herself being picked up by a pair of strong arms.

She squeaked slightly calling more attention than she really wanted to as she looked towards the man carrying her. She could tell he worked at the circus by the outfit that he wore but what she couldn't comprehend was his reason for picking her up.

"Take her to my seat," the Phantom told the man who in turn nodded and proceeded to carry Monica inside much to her predicament as her cheeks turned into a darker shade of crimson than before. The Phantom disappeared from her sight as the man started to carry her inside passing through the main entrance.

The walls were decorated with elegant designs and paintings that went throughout the circus. The seats were all similar to the ones at the Opera House if not better. The curtains were all a deep shade of red tied back by gold ropes, the workers all dressed in equally matching outfits.

As the man carried her in she observed the same people from before sneer at her and stare her down as she was carried over to the section reserved for the highest paying customers. The man walked past many seats until he reached the one directly in the middle with a grand view of the center stage.

He set her down carefully and started to leave before she caught his arm by the sleeve and gave it a gentle tug.

"Don't leave me here with these people," she begged looking around sensing some of them wanted to kill her for having such a seat despite the fact that she seemed poor compared to them. The man stared at her for a brief moment before nodding and sitting in a seat next to her nervously.

The Master had never told him to stay with the woman, he had only instructed him to take her to his seat, and as he observed her he understood why. Her left foot had a bandage wrapped around her ankle, which explained why he had to carry her instead of making her walk.

"I don't belong here," she whispered catching his attention as he too looked around. The women were all giving her dirty looks while the men merely stared down at her in a disgusted fashion. That only seemed to further embarrass the girl next to him as she buried her face in her hands once more and sighed.

"Don't let them get to you, they pride themselves in proving they are richer than others," the man told her calmly, "they pay a large sum for the regular seats, seeing you here only enrages them…it is nothing to be worried about," he added sympathizing with her knowing how it felt to be looked down upon.

Monica looked up at him and nodded but shuddered once she looked back to see more people pointing at her and snickering.

"I don't believe we've met properly," Monica told him as she turned to face him, "I'm Monica," she murmured stretching out her hand. The man looked at it curiously before stretching out his own and taking hers. He didn't know whether he should shake it our be more gentlemanly about the situation, knowing his Master he went with the latter.

"You may call me Fleur," he told her bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it. She blushed slightly before he released her hand and sat back in his seat knowing it would take a while for the show to start. Until then they would have to put up with the ridicule of the richer people sitting behind them.

"I know what it's like when they make fun of you, just ignore them," he whispered to her as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat feeling rather inferior compared to the upper class women that sat behind her in luxurious gowns and coats.

She looked down at her own outfit in dismay, she was wearing black jeans and what she considered a dressy shirt. But as she looked around she realized that her definition of dressy was way off mark. Women with large pearl and diamond necklaces stared back at her with spite in their eyes as some moved their purse closer to them and others avoided going near her all together.

"What kind of circus is this? I've never heard of it before," Monica asked curiously as Fleur looked at her with a blank face. It didn't shock him that she had never even heard of the circus, how could she when it was only available for the city's richest inhabitants?

"It is one of the finest in the world, if not the best…a single ticket can cost you your life's savings," Fleur replied causing Monica to shift in her seat once more. She didn't even deserve to be there; much less take the Phantom's front row seat. She had a feeling it was worth more than all of the other seats combined, it only stressed her more.

She sighed once more and frowned, she didn't deserve any of this, she was too inferior to even be in the Phantom's presence. The fact that he still kept her around amazed her, what was he thinking? He deserved one of the women sitting around her, someone rich and elegant. The fact seemed to sink in as she groaned and sat back in her chair to wait for the show to start knowing she wasn't going to enjoy any of it.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Kiri found herself running around the grounds of the circus, her big eyes darted from place to place each time discovering something new. She ran over to the place where all of the animals were held and stared at them from her place near the iron bars as her small face pressed up in between the bars gazing at the animals. The tigers paced around in their large cages, their graceful movements seemed to entrance her as she remained there for what seemed centuries.

"Would you like to touch one?" someone asked from behind her as her small frame spun to see who had caught her staring. Her eyes landed on the Phantom who stood looking at her and at the tigers with a calculative gaze before he looked down at her once more.

Her unbelieving eyes widened upon hearing his question, she had never touched a tiger before. Till now that was as close as she had ever gotten to the large felines.

"Of course, monsieur!" she replied eagerly as the Phantom nodded and stepped around her to open the gate that blocked off the area as she waited for him to enter before following. They both walked next to each other, Kiri having to make up for his large steps with three of her own as he strode towards the cage.

She gazed up at the animals in wonder amazed that she was this close and her Fraulein wasn't screaming at her to get away because they were too dangerous. She looked into the large grey eyes of the tiger in front of her and froze in her spot mesmerized with the fact that she was this close to the animal.

She heard the Phantom whisper something to the animal as it stopped pacing and walked over towards the bars were Kiri stood looking at it. The large cat pressed itself against its iron prison as Kiri found herself being pushed forward gently by a hand. She looked back to see the Phantom urging her forward as her small hand reached out carefully towards the coat of the animal that remained still.

Her hand shook nervously as she paused slightly while looking back at the Phantom for reassurance. He merely nodded back as she finally brushed the feline's fur and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

Her hand danced across the cat's fur with ease as she tiger remained still, it moved when the Phantom said something else to the animal as it turned and pressed its large face up against the bars. Kiri's hand reached towards it carefully and slowly. Her hand finally settled on the nose of the big cat as she ran it across its whiskers and head.

The Phantom stood back watching calmly, he had complete control of the animal or else he wouldn't have offered for her to get so close. He had tamed the cat she was petting himself; he knew it wouldn't disobey his orders.

Kiri continued to pet the large animal until she got a sight of the horses that were nearby, her hand fell slowly from the tiger and she turned towards the Phantom with a pleading face.

"Monsieur, can we see the horses too?" she asked looking up at him expectantly. Despite the bitter cold the Phantom found himself being lead towards the stables by the small child who was immediately dwarfed by his pair of Arabian horses.

Both of them were jet black in color, with amber eyes that only added to the beast's natural beauty. One of the horses bent its neck upon hearing a command from the Phantom as Kiri reached up and ran a hand through the horse's mane and caressed its face.

The Phantom observed as the horse snorted and sneezed causing Kiri to jump and sneeze ten seconds after the horse had done so. He also took note of the shade of pink that her cheeks had turned to due to the harsh cold; he guessed the show should be starting any moment now so he decided to end her exploring for the day.

"Come along, we must return you to your…mother," he told her finding it difficult to refer to Monica as a mother, "the show should be starting," he added as she nodded and followed him as he headed back towards the entrance of the circus.

"Mother I want to touch the tigers too!" a boy whined as Kiri passed by, he had watched her near the cage and touch the animals so why couldn't he? He turned to his mother expectantly as he pouted before the woman asked the man at the entrance about it.

The Phantom gave the man a warning glace from under the hood he used to conceal his mask before entering after Kiri to take her back to Monica.

"Sorry Madame, that is something I cannot allow," he told her as she scoffed and turned to her child in outrage.

"If that brat can do it, why can't he?" She yelled pointing to Kiri as the Phantom stopped walking and turned towards the woman knowing full well she couldn't see his face, his presence and voice however was enough to frighten the woman's courage away.

"The child will not go anywhere near my animals, that is final," he told her in a monotone voice that sent chills down the woman's spine.

"But I do not see why he cannot go, I am willing to pay," she started before the Phantom turned his back on her not paying attention to her ranting. It was always money with people now a days, it was all they cared for.

"I shall not repeat myself woman," he finalized walking through the entrance urging Kiri forward with a push to her back with his gloved hand. She smiled up at him before walking along with him as they entered the large tarp.

Monica sighed in relief when she saw the Phantom walk through the entrance into the main stage, and welcomed Kiri with open arms when the child launched herself into her arms.

"Fraulein I touched a tiger!" she giggled as Monica rose her accusing eyes towards the Phantom who didn't say anything. She managed to catch his lips lift into a small smirk under his dark hood before he disappeared once more leaving her under Fleur's supervision.

Monica decided to remain silent upon seeing Kiri so happy, the child deserved this after all she had been through. She needed a moment of happiness to forget her dark past, hell even she needed something to lighten up her mood.

She sat throughout the whole performance amazed at the acts, each better than the one before. The animals were superb, the acrobats perfectly trained, the magicians were indescribable. She was left speechless by the time the whole thing was over. She had to give it to the Phantom, his circus was like none other, it was probably the best in the world.

She took notice that the circus had no clowns; she made a mental note to ask the Phantom about it later as people started to get up and leave.

Kiri was sound asleep in her arms by the time most of the people were gone, only a few remained as Fleur stood from his seat and stretched.

"Look at that harlot, she probably got in by doing the ringmaster a favor or two," a woman commented as Monica looked down in embarrassment, she was in no position to argue with a woman of the upper class.

"Madame, I will have to ask you to leave," Fleur warned as he stepped in front of Monica to shield her form the harsh comments as the woman straightened herself up and left with a huff. Several other comments were thrown at Monica each as hurtful as the last by the time the last person left.

She felt like she was on the brim of breaking down, she knew she wasn't any of the things they had called her nevertheless it still got to her. She felt a tear roll down her cheek before a shadow settled over her form alerting her of the Phantom's presence.

Her hand shot up and wiped the tears away embarrassed by the fact that she was crying in the first place as the Phantom dismissed Fleur with a nod of his head.

He walked around Monica and observed her expression, her eyes were red and her cheeks were still damp, she had done a pitiful job in trying to hide the fact that she had been crying from him.

"Can…can we leave?" she asked quietly fearing to wake Kiri and make matters worse as the Phantom nodded and pulled down his hood revealing the black mask he had worn during Don Juan. He took Kiri from Monica's arms despite her protest and waited for her to stand allowing her to lead the way out.

Monica stopped when she felt her phone vibrate; she took it out of her pocket and read the message, her face paled considerably and instantly her mood dropped:

_The renovations have been completed,_

_Feel free to start using the Opera House once more,_

_-Viktor._

It seemed her time with the Phantom of the Opera was up, why else would he want her there when the Opera Populair was back to its former glory…?

**Review! Leave your opinion...should she leave or stay? Hehehehe ;D**


	25. Dejavu

**De-ja-vu**

**A/N: Well I was planning on putting Lucy in this chappie but it seemed too soon D: Pardon me if you were looking forward to her meeting with the Phantom, but it will probably happen during the next chapter :D Sidenote to some of you: **

**IrelandSavage: Obviously, he didnt tell her how he felt...he just made things worse hehehe ;D **

**Sakura Neko-Chan 13: Honestly I didnt think they would fight back due to them realizing that he actually did exist. I mean if it were me I would have fainted upon seeing that he was real, I dont think punching him or kicking him would have come across my mind but they did fight back a little when they were escaping from the roof (Jack tackling him, and Monica trying to choke him) XD As you will probably read on I did decide to have her leave since I wanted to give Lucy a shot with our Opera Ghost so you read my mind :3 Oh and as for the other gang wanting Jack? I will anwer that in one of the chappies to come, dont worry! It has a purpose lol :D**

Monica found herself sitting on the swan bed thinking of the events that had brought her to where she was. She ran a hand across the blood red silk sheets and paused to listen to the music that surrounded her.

She knew by now that the Phantom was playing at his organ once more, the walls around her shook with the force of the pipes and the notes that escaped them. She closed her eyes slowly and cleared her thoughts.

There was no way she could get around this predicament; she just didn't want to leave the Opera Populair yet. That had not been a part of their deal, she was to remain with him until the Opera House found itself repaired, and that had been done. She was to leave after and not remain with him, but how could she leave?

How?

She silently thanked Lucifer for picking Kiri up after they had arrived at the Opera House from the circus. She knew it would break Kiri's heart if she were to realize she would never see the Phantom again. Monica would have to tell her that they wouldn't be going back once she left herself. It was better this way.

Her eyes snapped open once she felt a change in the music around her, the notes dropping drastically into a darker tone. She rose from the bed and walked slowly towards the entrance of the room and stared at the Phantom as his hands danced across the keys with a grace she had never seen before.

Half of the candles were put out; she frowned once she noticed they needed to be changed. Would he do all of this by himself once she was gone? She found it cruel to leave him in solitude again, how long had it been since he had someone live down in the lair with him?

She sighed and walked over to him as the notes continued to drop, Monica could have sworn the number of candles that were lit dropped as well making the lair darker. If she didn't know any better she would have linked them to the Phantom's mood, if he was unhappy the whole place was dark.

She stopped near his table and smiled slightly when she found a rose on its surface. The man always had roses near him, where he got them was still a mystery to her. She picked up the delicate flower and ran a finger over the frail petals before feeling a sharp pain on her thumb.

She jumped slightly and dropped the rose on the table noticing the thorns on the side and the stain of blood she had left on one of them. She frowned at the ruby droplet on her finger before licking it off with a grimace on her face. The iron taste disgusted her but it was all she could do to avoid staining her clothes or his sheets of music.

She stared down at the rose, hell even the flower didn't want her there anymore. She turned from the flower and continued on her way to where the Phantom was as she lightly tapped his shoulder to get his attention. His hand slipped and hit the wrong key making the organ emit a lower note than intended as he growled lowly and turned to her.

He seemed to be messing up more often on his pieces when she was around to distract him, not that he minded anyway. He could already tell he wasn't going to enjoy this conversation due to her face going paler than the snow outside as he glared at her in response.

"I'm sorry," she told him shakily turning from him in order to get back to the safety of the swan room before his voice stopped her.

"Stay," he told her calmly turning his whole body on the bench so he was facing her as she turned to face him as well. He stood from the bench and motioned her over to him as she obediently walked closer to him.

To say that he was intimidating was an understatement, hell he towered over her at the moment and with the expression he was making she could tell he wasn't particularly happy about being interrupted. He stared at her expectantly as she avoided eye contact with him entirely.

"I just wanted to tell you…" she started hesitating slightly as he remained silent watching her before his temper snapped due to waiting so long for her to continue.

"Out with it already, child!" he thundered at her as she flinched visibly when she saw him move his arm upwards. He caught sight of this and resisted the urge to scowl at her for fearing him.

The sleepless nights caught up to him making his mood foul as she fumbled with her hands causing him to seethe within before his gloved hands shot out and seized her arms as he shook her trying to get whatever she wanted to tell him out of her.

"The Opera House is done! It's been renovated!" she cried horrified struggling against the harsh grip he was applying. Jack had done the same to her, and despite trying to convince herself that the Phantom would never harm her she couldn't help but remember thinking the same of Jack before he hurt her.

The Phantom saw this and couldn't resist gritting his teeth upon seeing her reduced to this state due to the boy he had 'killed' days ago. The thing that got to him was the fact that she feared him as well, how could she even think of him like that?

"You don't need me here, you never did!" she cried at him shaking free of his hold as he stepped back as well looking at her dangerously. Of course he needed her there with him; he needed her more than ever now that she had made her way into his world, his thoughts, his music.

He would be damned if he said any of those things out loud to her, he would never forgive himself for being the reason that led her to remain down in the catacombs with him. He would never wish his lonely lifestyle on anyone much less her. That had been his mistake, allowing her to stay this long.

He had become attached to her and the child that she now considered as hers. As much as he wanted to reach out and comfort her he knew he could never allow himself the pleasure of it. He was slowly beginning to understand why he had let Christine go that fateful night.

He could have chosen to keep her there with him; she had chosen him after all. But what was the point of it all if she would never be happy? She would never see the daylight, or be able to live a life of luxury with him. That was his main reason for surrendering her to the insolent Vitcome. While Monica didn't have an annoying fop after her the Phantom was sure she could find someone more suitable than himself. Someone who could make her happy and give her a life that she deserved without imprisoning her to a lifetime of darkness.

"Then why are you still here?" he shot back with venom in his voice. As soon as the words had left his mouth he felt something within him break upon seeing her hurt expression. He kept telling himself that letting her go in this manner was for the best, she was better off without him anyway.

"You're just like Jack! You've tossed me around like a ragdoll doing your bidding, and now what? You no longer need me, so you're disposing of me just like he did!" she cried back as the room grew considerably darker and a snarl reached her ears.

"Do not compare me with that boy!" he bellowed at her moving forward while pulling back his hand knowing how afraid she was of getting hit again. What he wasn't expecting was for her to fall over his chair in her desperation to get away from him.

His mind instantly remembered the broken bones that were still healing as he dropped his hand in panic and looked at her shaking form as her hand clutched her side in pain. She turned to look at him in fear, pain, and anger as she tried to pick herself up despite her aching body and injured ankle.

The Phantom stepped back controlling his anger upon realizing what their arguing had led him to do. He closed his eyes in regret and started to move forward to help her only to hear the one phrase that had shattered his very soul the last time he had heard it.

"_The tears I might have shed for your dark fate, grow cold…and turn to tears of hate!" _she sang to him as she held back a scream of pain upon feeling her lungs protest from the fall she had just gone through.

She continued to struggle as he legs gave out underneath her during her attempts to stand. The Phantom remained paralyzed in front of her in disbelief.

He had committed the same mistake again; he was the one to blame for her change of heart. He mentally scolded himself for raising his hand at her when he knew how traumatizing that was for her, and he had caused her to injure herself again.

He decided to at least try to help her up but found her backing away from him when he tried to get close, horror apparent in her eyes.

"I am not going to harm you," he told her calmly crouching in front of her trying to help her once more before she snapped as well.

"Stop! That's all you've ever done!" she cried slapping his arm away with her hand in fear when he tried to touch her, "You've already done enough harm, Erik!" she screamed at him causing him to back away from her completely.

He looked away from her broken form on the ground and turned away from her. She was right, all he ever did was hurt her, despite the promise he had made to never cause her any pain he had broken that as well. But he had never laid a hand on her in that manner, and he never would. He adored her too much to ever do such a thing, so why couldn't he tell her that before all of this happened?

They had past the point of no return, and he had never told her how much she meant to him, how he longed to keep her there forever to take her away from the world and claim her as his. It shattered his being seeing her there with that hateful look directed at him only.

He was brought out of his thoughts when she managed to stand with a pained groan. He moved forward once again to try and help her but once again she backed away from him while trying to regain her balance at the same time. He stopped himself from causing her any more pain and watched as she walked towards the entrance of the tunnel leading to the upper levels.

"Jack was right…you don't care about anyone," she told him in pained gasps as she stood in front of the tunnel, "you have no heart," she finalized as she let the curtain fall behind her.

The Phantom watched her leave, had he been thinking rationally he would have stopped her from going any further away from him. He felt as though she was taking a part of him with her, his music, his inspiration died when she left.

He stormed through the lair knocking over candlesticks and sheets of paper. What good were they without her?

He sat on his large velvet adorned chair and tried to stop his body as it shook violently, a single tear escaping his eye in rage upon letting her leave like that. He hated himself for breathing without her. He needed her there to give him a reason to live, what was the point of going on without her touch, her voice, her presence…?

He cursed the world for taking her away from him, he cursed his lair for reminding him of the child that he would never see again, her cursed his music for reminding him of her laughter, and he cursed her for making him love her more than life itself.

**Review? What happened to half of you? Dont tell me the Opera Ghost punjabed all of you! :D**


	26. How long has it been?

**How long has it been?**

**A/N: O.O All of my reviewers are back! :D Note to all of you, this chapter has alot of singing in it so if you dont like just skim or skip it entirely just a warning for some of you! I hope this chapter dosent feel too rushed but I felt the need to update sooner since one of you mentioned that take too long in updating XD Oh and another note, later on in the chapter Lucy is the italic and Monica is the Italic with bold while both of them at the same time is the bold underline just a heads up for that one as well! Enjoy!**

"_Out on your own,_

_Cold and alone again…_

_Can this be what you really wanted, baby?_

_Blame it on me,_

_Set your guilt free!_

_Nothing can hold you back now…_

_Now that you're gone,_

_I feel like myself again,_

_Grieving the things I can't repair,_

_And willing..._

_To let you blame it on me!_

_And set your guilt free…_

_I don't want to hold you back now, love._

_I can't change who I am…_

_Not this time, I won't lie to keep you near me…_

_And in this short life, there's no time to waste on giving up._

_My love wasn't enough!_

_And you can blame it on me,_

_Just set your guilt free, honey…_

_I don't want to hold you back now, love!"_

_-Lacrymosa, Evanescence_

Monica grimaced and turned the radio off earning herself a questioning glance from Lucifer as he walked around the pool table trying to figure out his next move. Monica ignored the questioning look and in turn turned away to see where Kiri had run off to.

She smiled when she noticed Kiri was playing with Joker as she ran after him trying to catch the biker who in turn jumped over furniture to avoid getting caught by the giggling child. Monica sighed thinking back on the song that had just played for it reminded her of a certain ghost.

_My love wasn't enough…_

She frowned once more remembering the night when they had parted, she had been too harsh. Kiri was barely starting to get over the fact that she would never see _him _again. Occasionally Monica would catch the small child listening to opera music or violin pieces while dancing by herself with a sorrowful smile.

Monica hated herself for causing her child so much pain, but there was nothing she could do. The Phantom didn't want her back and that was something that she would never be able to change although she wished she could see him one more time.

She found herself staring at Joker more and more and noticing the similarities between him and the Opera Ghost, perhaps that was why Kiri found his presence more comforting and protective than all of the other bikers.

Monica heard Lucifer curse as the white ball completely missed its target and hit another ball which got the biker in question nowhere. She turned to him with a light grin once he noticed where the ball had stopped.

She leaned over the edge of the pool table and aimed before hitting the ball and pulling back laughing when it hit another and fell into the desired hole. Lucifer cursed once more and threw his pool stick on the table giving up after being beat three times in a row.

"I need some air, I'll be outside if you need me," Monica told him motioning over to Kiri before he nodded. She walked through the large bar that once belonged to her father as several bikers bowed their heads as she passed in respect. She merely continued to walk until she reached the backdoor and opened it stepping into the alleyway that was behind the bar.

The cold air felt good against her skin as she breathed deeply and sighed trying to shake away the memories of the Phantom that emerged with the song that she had just heard.

It had been a year since she had last seen him and things were back to normal with her gang of bikers. Jack was nowhere to be found and despite Lucifer's want to find him Monica just hoped that he stayed away.

She had heard nothing from the Opera Populair or the opera ghost since she had left and she still ached when he resurfaced in her mind. She didn't want to admit it but she still loved him…perhaps even more than before. She worried about him every day, whether he was sleeping enough, eating enough, resting enough.

She shook those thoughts away, why was she thinking of him when he didn't give a damn whether she lived or died?

She felt a tear fall down her cheek as her expression changing from sorrowful to enraged. She was not going to cry over him. She whipped her cheek roughly with her sleeve and clenched her teeth in rage when she saw the damn spot that had been left on her jacket.

She had shed a tear for him far too many times. She had lost track of the lonely nights that she had cried herself to sleep, the times when she broke down during the day unable to bare living without him or his music.

She turned sharply and cleared her thoughts before returning to the bar without thinking about what might have been.

Joker looked up just as she came in before Kiri ran up to him with her arms outstretched. He caught her and spun her around before picking her up and glancing at Monica as she walked over to Lucifer once more with a cold expression on her face.

He sighed while frowning before he felt Kiri's small hand brush over his scar. She was the only person on the face of the earth allowed to touch the scar apart from Monica. Even then he found it hard to believe how she could love the damn scar as much as she did.

"I don't like to see you sad, mami is always sad," Kiri told him before he forced himself to smile if only for her sake.

Before anyone could do anything else Lucy walked in waving the newspaper up in the air as she tried to shake off the snow from outside with her free hand. The smile on her face couldn't have been wider as she walked over to Monica laughing with excitement.

"They're having auditions at the Opera Populair!" she exclaimed as Monica paled and backed up into Lucifer who in turn caught her and held her up as she shook her head when Lucy approached her, "Look at this! We have to go!" she added putting the paper into Monica's shaking hands.

She gave it a cursory look before glancing at Lucy who was ecstatic in front of her as Kiri ran up to her eagerly upon hearing what she had just said.

"Fraulein we have to go!" Kiri exclaimed pulling on Monica's jacket happily as Monica shook her head. She had avoided the Opera Populair for so long in fear of seeing the Phantom…but to return to it once more? She didn't want to see him much less be in his domain.

"It's for the Phantom of the Opera! You have to come I'm sure we could get a part!" Lucy told her in a high pitch voice as Monica resisted the urge to laugh. Out of all of the musicals he could have chosen to perform for opening night he had chosen his own.

"Please fraulein!" Kiri added tugging on her jacket once more. Monica knew Kiri didn't really want to go because of the auditions; she merely wanted to see the Opera Ghost again. She wasn't so sure that he would welcome her with open arms after the words they had exchanged during their last encounter.

"Come on Monica, we have to go now or we'll miss them!" Lucy commented pulling Monica along by grabbing her hand and leading her to the door. Kiri right behind them as Monica pondered on all of the possibilities of Lucy's plan going terribly wrong as she was rushed towards Lucy's car.

As soon as they got in her mind went blank not believing that after a year of not seeing or hearing from him she was going to go back. Perhaps with a little bit of luck she wouldn't see him at all that thought comforted her as they pulled up to the Opera Populair.

Lucy opened the door to her car and rushed outside as she opened Monica's door and pulled her out while Kiri ran towards the entrance her chocolate curls bouncing behind her as she rushed up the stairs and stared bewildered at the two men in front of her who seemed to be closing up behind them.

"Wait please we're here to for the audition!" Lucy told them pulling Monica along as she stared at the large statues outside of the Opera Populair as Lucy argued with the men who told her that she had arrived too late and that the auditions were over.

"Come on, I managed to convince them to let us in," Lucy told Monica pulling her along as they stepping in after the men who pulled out their notebooks and lead them to the main stage.

Monica was amazed with what the Phantom had done; the renovations that had been done while she was gone were surreal.

She was brought back down to earth when the men in front of them asked Lucy a question before she responded and looked at Monica expecting an answer.

"I'm sorry, I was distracted…what did you ask me?" Monica told her as Lucy resisted the urge to face palm before she repeated her question.

"Can you sing without music? They already had the orchestra leave," Lucy told her, "you'll have to sing and entire song for them without it," she told her as Monica nodded. She didn't know why she was there but it brought back so many memories.

She glanced up at the catwalk that was directly above the stage and wondered where the Phantom was before Lucy got on the stage and looked at the two men who nodded at her to proceed.

Monica glanced at them briefly before recognizing one of them, it was Fleur. The man who had stayed with her when the Phantom took them to his circus, she looked around trying to see if the Opera Ghost was anywhere in sight before Lucy's voice brought her back down to reality.

Kiri looked around before catching a glimpse of white from one of the balconies as she sprung to her feet and headed towards the stairs before Monica could notice.

She ascended them as fast as her feet could carry her as she opened the door leading to the balcony seats and rushed over to the one where she thought she had seen the Phantom. Sure enough he stood paralyzed looking down at the sea of red seats where Monica found herself looking at Lucy sing.

"Monsieur Phantom!" Kiri exclaimed as the Opera Ghost turned to look at her before she hugged his leg. He glanced down at the child he thought he would never see again and crouched allowing her to see him better as tears of joy rolled down her face.

"The fraulein has missed you so much! I thought we wouldn't see you again!" she exclaimed as he remained frozen. The child in front of him clinging on to him for dear life as he rose once more and looked down to where Monica was.

How could she miss him when he had hurt her? How could she miss a monster like him…?

"What brought you here?" he asked Kiri as she looked down with him and pointed towards Lucy who was still singing.

"Lucy heard you were looking for people to sing for your play so she brought us with her," Kiri replied as the Phantom nodded. He couldn't find it in himself to look away from Monica as she shifted in her seat and looked around sensing someone staring at her. She dismissed the feeling and continued to watch Lucy sing.

The song that she had chosen was no surprise to any of them as she allowed herself to get lost in his music once more.

"_Who knows when love begins?_

_Who knows what makes it start?_

_One day it's simply there,_

_Alive inside in your heart._

_It slips into your thoughts,_

_It infiltrates your soul,_

_It takes you by surprise,_

_Then seizes full control._

_Try to deny it,_

_And try to protest,_

_But love won't let you go,_

_Once you've been possessed._

_Love never dies._

_Love never falters._

_Once it has spoken,_

_Love is yours._

_Love never fades._

_Love never alters._

_Hearts may get broken,_

_Love endures..._

_Hearts may get broken,_

_Love endures._

_And soon as you submit,_

_Surrender flesh and bone,_

_That love takes on a life much bigger than your own._

_It uses you at whim and drives you to despair._

_And forces you to feel more joy than you can bear._

_Love gives you pleasure,_

_And love brings you pain!_

_And yet, when both are gone,_

_Love will still remain._

_Once it has spoken,_

_Love is yours._

_Love never dies,_

_Love never alters,_

_Hearts may get broken,_

_Love endures..._

_Hearts may get broken._

_Love never dies!_

_Love will continue!_

_Love keeps on beating when you're gone!_

_Love never dies once it is in you!_

_Life may be fleeting,_

_Love lives on..._

_Life may be fleeting,_

_Love lives on!"_

The Phantom watched as she woman on the stage sang, he had to admit she didn't have a bad vibrato but she overdramatized some parts which he didn't appreciate. He watched with anticipation as his muse rose and walked over to the stage slowly.

She looked around with a slightly frightened expression as he shrunk further back into the shadows afraid of startling her if she saw him.

She fumbled with her hands nervously as the men in front of her nodded ready to listen as she sighed to calm her nerves and tried to think of what to sing. She smiled when she thought of the perfect song and then began.

"_The day starts, the day ends,_

_Time crawls by…_

_Night steals in, pacing the floor._

_The moments creep,_

_Yet I can't bear to sleep…_

_Till I hear you sing._

_And weeks pass, and months pass,_

_Seasons fly…_

_Still you don't walk through the door,_

_And in a haze,_

_I count the silent days,_

_Till I hear you sing once more._

_And sometimes at night time,_

_I dream that you are there…_

_But wake holding nothing but the empty air._

_And years come, and years go,_

_Time runs dry,_

_Still I ache down to the core._

_My broken soul_

_Can't be alive and whole,_

_Till I hear you sing once more…_

_And music, your music…_

_It teases at my ear,_

_I turn and it fades away and you're not here…_

_Let hopes pass, let dreams pass,_

_Let them die!_

_Without you, what are they for?_

_I'll always feel,_

_No more than halfway real…_

_Till I hear you sing…once more!"_

She finished with the long note with ease as she regained her breath and sighed pleased with herself as she rejoined Lucy who watched with slight jealousy from the velvet seat she was sitting on.

The Phantom resisted the urge to simply descend the stairs and take her back with him. How he longed to hear her voice, to see her, to hold her. He glanced down at Kiri who stared at Monica and Lucy in amazement. She had never heard them sing with such emotion before.

Fleur glanced up at the box where the Phantom was in a discreet manner as the Phantom shook his head and motioned for him to have them sing once more.

"I hope you do not mind, but we would like to hear a duet with you two," he told the women as they glanced at each other before nodding. They both stood on the stage once more trying to decide what they were going to sing before Lucy got an idea.

"Do you know 'Devil take the Hindmost'?" she asked as Monica nodded, "I'll sing Raoul's part and you can sing the Phantom's," she told her as she stepped away and nodded once more. They both stared at each other before starting.

"_Miss Giry, I'm not afraid of him. I've bested him before and if he ever had the courage to meet me face to face, man to man...No, no it can't be…"_

Lucy sang looking at Monica knowing she would lose this duet if she didn't sing the Phantom's part right. She knew her voice was better so why was she so worked up about it? She watched as her rival started her part.

"_**Not afraid of me, you say?"**_

Monica sang laughing mockingly as Lucy narrowed her eyes at her. It might have looked like she was acting, but deep down she knew she was glaring at Monica only for having such a voice. She responded with an equal tone.

"_Stay back or I'll kill you, I promise you!"_

Lucy sang finding it ironic that she was singing her thoughts. She would kill Monica if she didn't stay away from the Phantom. The year she had wasted being away from him had given her time to think up another plan and have Jack recover. All she asked for was for Monica to stay away from her man and it would work smoothly.

"_**Of course. **_

_**As you say, you've beaten me before…**_

_**But that was a long time ago, Vicomte. **_

_**And we were playing a different game…**_

_**Look at you, deep in debt…**_

_**Stinking drunk – pitiful!**_

_**Shall we two make a bet?**_

_**Devil take the hindmost…"**_

Monica spat sensing Lucy was taking it too far with her acting as she let all of the pent up rage she had stored over the past year and allowed it to flow with her voice making her role more believable.

"_Look at you, foul as sin!_

_Hideous – horrible!_

_Call the stakes, deal me in…_

_Devil take the hindmost."_

Lucy glared at Monica as the two sized each other up on the stage causing Fleur to glance at the Phantom in slight concern. The women seemed to be taking it way too far, but all he got was a blank look from the Phantom indicating that he wanted them to continue.

"_**Our Christine shall choose tonight!**_

_Let her choose!_

_**Is she yours or mine?**_

_Draw the line!_

_**If she sings you lose tonight…**_

_I won't lose!_

_**You leave from here!**_

_Fine!_

_**Disappear!**_

_Fine! And if she won't, if I win?_

_**All your debts wiped away…**_

_Very well, let's begin..._

**Devil take the hindmost!"**

They started to sing louder sensing that the other was doing far more than acting. They started to circle each other as Fleur glanced once again at the Phantom who merely shook his head and continued to watch the pair sing.

"_You think you have the odds_

_**(Our old game,)**_

_You think you're in control_

_**(It's been changed…)**_

_You think you've fixed the dice_

_**(Every throw,)**_

_Well I will gladly roll_

_**(Risking her…)**_

_I'll bet against the house_

_**(All the rules,)**_

_I'll even double down_

_**(Rearranged…**_

_**Fate has redesigned those!)"**_

The Phantom continued to watch as they circled each other their voices going lower and lower as they continued to take it to the next level. He never took his eyes off of his muse who was doing a pretty good job in imitating him down to the last detail in how he sang and his body language. He got chills just by watching her. He couldn't have asked for a better way to get her back after a long and torturous year of having to live without her.

"_Fortune's on my side_

_I won her long ago, _

_**(Cut the deck,)**_

_I won her from you then…_

_**(Let us play…)**_

_I beat you even now,_

_**(Roll your die,)**_

_I'll win her back again_

_**(Once again…)**_

_And when the game is done!_

_**Either way!**_

**Devil take the hindmost!**

**Now Christine shall choose at last…**

**Is she yours or mine?**

_We've a son - our bonds secure_

_**Are you sure?**_

_What?_

_**Are you so sure?**_

_What do you mean?"_

They both sang with more emotion as they snarled some parts and shouted the others. Fleur could have sworn he was seeing the doubles of both Raoul and the Phantom as the women on stage continued to impersonate each of their characters with a passion that he hadn't seen in the other people who had tried out for some parts.

"_**Such a child, strange to see**_

_**Different, musical…**_

_Huh?_

_**Is he more you or me?**_

_**Which one do you find most?**_

_You lie!"_

Monica sang that part with a wicked smile on her face which only enraged Lucy further as she practically thundered out the last part causing Fleur to flinch in his seat as he continued to watch the two duel each other for supremacy. Lucy sneering at Monica as she in turn stared Lucy down. They both took a breath and readied themselves for the part that was to come as they both snarled out the last verses of the song with hate.

"_**Deal the cards**_,

_(I call your bluff)_

_**Let them fall,**_

_(The game is on…)_

_**Choose your hand,**_

_(And we will see…)_

_**Try your best…**_

_(Who wins out…)_

_**He who wins…**_

_(Once and for all,)_

**Wins it all, **

**Devil take the hindmost…"**

Both of them stopped circling each other at the same time and dragged the note out with an eerie tone to it as Fleur glanced at the Phantom who was intrigued by their take on the duet that had been written for him and the fop. He had to admit that the other woman knew how to play Raoul, but that was all she had going for her, her vibrato was sometimes forced. He stopped to listen as his muse sang the last line.

"_**Devil take the hindmost…"**_

She sang looking at Lucy sensing her friend wasn't much of a friend after all. Fleur broke the tension in between the two as he stood up and clapped along with the other man after receiving an approving nod from the Phantom to give one of them the role of Christine for the musical.

"I am glad to inform you that one of you two will be playing Christine, of course for this role your voice will be tested and your range will be pushed," he told them as he looked at Monica who tried to catch her breath after the duet she had just had with Lucy.

"We would be overjoyed to have you play Christine," he told her as she held back the urge to laugh. This was the Phantom's doing that much she was sure of. She chuckled slightly seeing Lucy's horrified face upon realizing she wasn't going to get the main role.

"I'm sorry but I can't take that role, she deserves it more than me," she told Fleur motioning over to Lucy who immediately looked up when she heard Monica didn't want the role. The Phantom clenched his jaw upon hearing his muse deny her rightful role. He turned from the balcony with a sharp turn motioning for Kiri to follow as he descended and prepared to lecture her on what she had just let slip from her grasp.

"The only other role that would be available would be Carlotta's part," Fleur told her as she thought about it.

"If no one else wants it…I'll be glad to do it," she told him as he grimaced knowing how that role ruined some singers' voices when they didn't do it right. He knew the Phantom was going to kill him when he found out that she hadn't accepted Christine's part.

"Thank you for the part," Lucy told him as she descended from the stage once more and turned to look at Monica, "I'll see you during rehearsals," she told her before leaving followed by the other man who had been with Fleur.

Monica looked at Fleur who merely shook his head in dismay at her as she glanced around and didn't find Kiri. She didn't panic however when she didn't see her child anywhere, she knew she was with the Phantom.

She turned away to go and look for her before she heard a soft thud behind her followed by the ruffling of a cloak before she grimaced knowing the lecture that was coming. She turned to look at the man that she hadn't seen in over a year.

He stood on the stage intimidating and powerful as ever with Kiri by his side hiding behind his large frame peeking over his side looking at Monica with worried eyes as she locked her own pair with the Phantom's.

"We must talk, come," he ordered her as she considered her options. She could leave and forget about him, but she knew she couldn't leave now. How she missed the sound of his voice, his mere presence was a relief from her normal life.

"Fleur will take you around, your _mother _and I must talk," the Phantom told Kiri as she nodded and hopped down from the stage and ran off with Fleur who followed after her making sure she was kept away from danger as Monica glanced up at the Phantom.

The tension in between both of them could have been cut with a knife due to it being so thick.

"Why did you not take the part I offered you?" he questioned harsh as ever as she found herself submitting to him once more. She found it in herself to shake off the fear that had resurfaced along with her memories and answer back.

"I don't deserve it," she told him blankly as he clenched his jaw.

"Why have you returned?" he questioned her as she merely looked down. He continued to look at her without breaking eye contact as she smiled to herself.

"I would be lying if I said I didn't come back to see you," she told him looking up at him once more, "I missed your music, the lair, and Kiri kept asking for you," she told him as he descended from the stage and circled her with a calculating gaze.

He stopped behind her causing her to shiver and look back at him before his hand wrapped her neck with a gentleness she hadn't been expecting. She jumped as he leaned into her causing her to close her eyes and sigh completely forgetting the hate that she had felt towards him.

"A year…you have been gone for a year," he whispered to her as she looked back at him. He merely pulled her back to him with his hand still on her neck.

"It hasn't been that long," she told him as he laughed. The melodic sound causing her body to shiver once more as he shook his head.

"It has been too long, I have not composed anything since your absence," he told her as she snapped out of her daze and stepped away from him.

"You didn't need me here, remember?" she told him coldly as he stepped forward again longing to hold her again. He had waited too long for her to come back to him; he had nearly forgotten how much he needed her with him.

"I have always needed you," he told her reaching out to hold her again before she stepped back once more.

"This is the third time I've come back Erik, how can I possibly believe that you need me now?" she told him as he resisted the urge to growl at her.

"What would make you believe me?" he asked her as she stepped forward cautiously eyeing the mask on his face as he caught on and nearly shouted at her, "anything but that," he snarled warningly as she stopped walking towards him.

"You have to trust me…I won't leave you," she told him as he glanced down in shame and stepped back when she stepped forward, "I'm not going to abandon you like she did, Erik," she told him as he froze in his spot.

She paused before stepping towards him once more. He didn't make a move to get away as she rose her hand towards his mask. He closed his eyes in regret when her shaking hand touched the porcelain prop. He prayed to whatever god had cursed him to live with his abhorrent face begging for her to not scream when she saw what was underneath.

His breath hitched when he felt her pull the mask away and gasp.


	27. Nothing Less

**Nothing Less**

**A/N:How long has it been? o.O Much too long for some of you, my apologies!I didnt want to rush this chapter since I've read some fics on here where they have the OC immediately accept the Phantom after seeing his face which bugs me, I hope this didnt feel too rushed!But here it is! Side note to some of you:**

**BreeBabeWWETNA: I doubt Joker would want to get paired up to Lucy, I mean who would? :D Oh and as for Kiri's name its pronounced Keeree for her nickname and Keereemee for her full name, the 'e' makes a squeaky sound like in 'leaf' I dont know if I've explained it correctly but I hope it helps!**

**Musicality: Hmm, I wonder what questions you have in mind? Feel free to ask since you got me curious, what would you want to know about the characters? I look forward to more reviews from you :D**

** Sakura Neko-Chan 13: Dont worry, Lucy will be thrown into the mix and will have plenty of alone time with our dear Phantom, do not fear! **

** Elssiana: I know you hate it when I take forever to update, so sorry about the wait! I hope its semi worth it :D **

**Nuria78: Glad you like it so far, here's the chapter so dont punjab me! o.O And thank you for the review and compliments!**

** trrmo77: Dont worry, he'll get her to play Christine. We all know the Phantom is a a master at making people "sick" or unable to sing seconds before they have to go on stage ;) **

** Kudos to those who reviewed the last chappie: Et. al, Musicality, RedDeathLvr, Sakura Neko-Chan 13, trrmo77, 13sapphire13, Xxnikkigirl123xX, Nuria786, and Elssiana **

Monica pulled the mask away holding in her breath as the Phantom tensed in front of her. She had thought she would be prepared to deal with all of the emotions that ran though her body when she finally got a look at his face but she had failed miserably to contain them.

She gasped upon seeing what he hid beneath the porcelain mask. A million of emotions flooded through her, her thoughts were running wild, and her mouth hung open in shock.

The Phantom remained frozen in place; his eyes closed shut waiting for the scream or for her to run away. Upon realizing that neither of those had happened he opera ghosts risked opening his eyes to see why she was still there.

Monica remained speechless as she stared at the right side of his face with an unreadable expression. Within however her whole body had gone into overload. She scanned his deformed side without being able to place her feelings towards him.

The harsh bumps and ridges on his skin confused her; she had never seen anything quite like it. She noticed a few scars scattered throughout the whole area which had probably been there for a while, it sickened her to think that another had done it to him. She felt the need to step closer in order to examine his face further but as she did so he stepped back defensively.

His hand flew up to cover the deformity while the other remained clenched at his side. He couldn't understand what had gone through his mind when he allowed her to remove his mask; it was a fatal error that he had promised himself he would never allow to happen again.

Monica sighed shakily trying to comprehend what she was feeling before approaching an already unstable opera ghost. Repulsion was a feeling that seemed to want to emerge but she didn't think herself capable of feeling that way towards him, she sighed deeply trying to see if that had been it.

Upon breathing out she ruled out being disgusted, that was not it.

Pity perhaps?

She stepped forward trying to get a better look at his face which was hung low and shadowed over by the dim lighting in the main theater. He seemed so vulnerable at the moment and it caused her immense pain when she realized that she had caused him to be like this.

Yes, pity was amongst the various feelings that she was feeling but that wasn't enough for her. She wanted to understand herself before she could even begin to think herself capable of understanding the fallen angel before her.

What had the world put him through?

What had he endured at the hands of the cruel masses?

The thought of them beating and jeering him disgusted her, made her want to turn back time in order to save him the misery and suffering.

She moved forward once more, this time a bit slower afraid of startling him. If he was in the same state of mind as her at the moment then the slower approach would benefit them both. The slightest harsh movement or outburst would cause them to lose the little control that they had on themselves at the moment.

She approached his hunched form with a scared look in her eyes waiting for him to move, to say anything, to breathe. He kept his head low, his hand still covering the deformity on the side of his face. She gently rose her own hand and placed it over the one he held over his face as he jumped upon feeling her touch.

His eyes met hers and in that moment she tried to comprehend what he had been through, what he had to endure in order to survive. His pleading eyes held an immense feeling of sorrow that made her want to understand him more.

"Let me see," she whispered to him shakily. He refused for a moment or two longer before allowing her small hand to remove his with a shaky breath.

Monica stared at the skin that had remained hidden from her eyes with wide eyes. She stopped her obvious staring and tried to get him to look at her without success.

She rose her hand to caress the damaged skin out of pure curiosity making sure to let him know her intentions before even attempting such an action. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding upon touching his face.

He jumped once he felt her smooth hand on the side of his monstrous face making her pull her hand back in horror and back away from him with a bowed head.

"I'm sorry," she murmured reeling her body back and scolding herself for being so stupid. Her mind was starting to slow down and her feelings towards the Opera Ghost were starting to clear up.

She didn't feel disgust or fear towards him, that much she was sure of. Somewhere in the back of her head she found herself comparing him to Joker when he had first walked in with the newly acquired scar.

It had taken a while to get used to him walking around with that permanent grin that he now wore with pride but that was where the two men were different. While Joker didn't mind the scar the Phantom did, he was ashamed of the deformity to the point of isolating himself from the world.

"Was the fear of hurting me the reason you backed away, or has the realization of how monstrous I really am sunk in?" he snarled at her as she shrunk back from him knowing he had lost control.

"I merely thought I had hurt you," she squeaked back upon seeing him storm over to her causing her to sink into one of the velvet chairs behind her.

"Are you content now?" he thundered at her as she shook her head while staring at him with a worried expression on her face. She hated it when he lost control of himself, that was the only time in which she actually considered herself in danger while being near him.

"Do you see now why I hide this cursed face?" he asked her not really expecting an answer from the shaking woman before him. He glared down at her as she stared up in fear.

After a few moments he managed to calm himself down as he sat down on a velvet chair a few seats away from her. She observed him as his breathing slowed and his shoulders dropped.

She managed to get herself to stand up and walk over to the Phantom on unstable legs as she stood in front of the fallen angel that had invaded her life.

She tilted her head as she noticed a single tear roll down the side of his face, that alone caused her heart to ache for the man in front of her. She grabbed one of his arms and wrapped it around her waist as she sat on his lap catching the Phantom completely off guard as his head shot up to look at her with a startled expression.

His blue eyes stared at her with a fearful expression as she stared back trying to convince him that she meant no harm. She stared at him with wonder as his eyes never left her own despite the tears that escaped from them.

'_Yet in his eyes_

_All the sadness of the world_

_Those pleading eyes,_

_That both threaten and adore…'_

She brought up her hand once more as she touched the side of his deformed face to prove to him that she felt no disgust towards him, this time making sure she didn't pull back upon remembering the line from the movie that made her see the true Phantom. What she did next however, the Phantom would never forget.

He felt her draw closer and before he had time to stop her she had already placed a kiss on his repulsive face. She continued to place scattered kisses throughout the entire right side of his face reveling in the taste of the salty tears that were still falling from his eyes.

The Phantom on the other hand wanted to die then and there; he would have died a glorious death. He didn't think this was real, that she was here with him. But the feeling of her lips on his skin was far too real to ignore, he had never felt anything like it.

"Why?" he asked her struggling to breathe normally as she stopped her task and stared at him with a serious expression.

"I love you for who you truly are, nothing more and nothing less," she told him finally admitting it to not only herself but him. He drew back slightly not expecting that answer and nearly forgot to breathe when she placed a feather-light kiss on the tip of his nose before settling down against his chest.

"How can you love a monster such as myself?" he murmured looking down at her as she closed her eyes in exhaustion.

"You're not a monster, merely a fallen angel…too beautiful for humans to lay their eyes upon you, I was merely lucky to see you before any other woman…for who you truly are," she told him yawning throughout the sentence as he continued to stare down at her.

"I would not want any other woman," he murmured back before realizing she had fallen asleep against him. He would have never imagined that a woman would accept him for who he truly was, after all he had failed with Christine even after he had giving her everything. He found himself pushing away the thoughts of the soprano from long ago, instead he found himself staring down at the woman in his lap, wondering how she had made her way into his life.

Had the God who had abandoned him all those years ago finally listened to his prayers and sent her? Or had the Devil sent her to torture him further by tearing her away from him when he least expected it? Either way he had no intentions of letting her go now that she was his, come what may nothing would separate her from him.

He wrapped his muscular arms around her protectively and pulled her closer as she nestled closer to him enjoying the warmth of his body. He stroked her black hair in content upon finding someone who understood him before she shivered and drew closer to him for warmth.

He noted this and cradled her in his arms before rising knowing it only got colder as night drew closer before descending towards the lair. He bumped into Fleur and Kiri on the way giving him orders to take the child down to the lair when she got tired of exploring before he continued on his way.

He laid her down on his bed before she moved away from him and hugged one of his black pillows to her chest. He pulled back and covered her with one of the silk sheets while admiring the woman before him.

He walked out of his room but not before looking back at her one last time fining it surreal that she was still there despite the fact that she had seen his deformed face.

He looked around the lair and walked over to the orang before sitting before it. He grabbed a blank sheet of paper and a pen that he had left on top of the keys before pausing. It had been over a year since he had last composed anything, but with his muse back composing would no longer be a problem.

With that thought in mind he placed his hands over the keys and started to play the organ that he had neglected for over a year.

**Review!**


	28. Watch It Burn

**Watch It Burn...**

**A/N:Sorry for the long time in updating! Well here it is, because to be honest...I've left Lucy out of the picture for too long..shes gotta shine too :D (cough) Anyway, here it is let me know what you think! Sidenotes:**

**xJill Lovett: I agree with you...and glad you like it! Dont worry, they'll get a kiss eventually! :3 Oh, and I dont think anyone is to fond of Lucy either hehehe ;D**

**BreeBabeWWETNA: I like the rival gang idea :D but sadly we cant get rid of her that easily, I hope this chapter is to your liking :D**

**trrmo77:Honestly...I just think she'll get the Phantom mad...I mean if she suggests getting rid of his organ in order to replace it with a plasma I think the world might end...XD If you want to see anything happen or a particular situation between those two let me know and I'll see if I can fit it in here!**

**IrelandSavage:You can never have to many 'a's my dear XD**

**Nevermore8:If you ever do draw it up I would love to see it, and ever since you said that I can almost picture the Phantom singing some of those lines as well XD**

**Kuddos to those who reviewed: xJill Lovett , BreeBabeWWETNA ,Feisty Fae Phantom Gurl , ANON, trrmo77 ,PhantomAlways , rawrsharpii ,IrelandSavage , Nevermore8 ,13sapphire13 ,Xxnikkigirl123xX ,RedDeathLvr **

"Do it again, watch your landing on the last jump," the Phantom scolded as Monica sighed. She blew a strand of hair from her face and checked her ankle before starting the routine again.

The Phantom sat in the first row of the theater watching her every move with a critical eye. Kiri sat next to him glancing at Monica and then at him from time to time with a worried expression on her face.

Monica on the other hand tried to block out the man sitting a few feet away from her and started to run through the difficult routine without messing up. She got halfway through it with the Phantom grimacing here and there before he stared to correct her once more.

"Keep your leg up on that turn!" he barked as she lost her concentration upon hearing the harsh tone and ended up falling sideways. She hissed between gritted teeth and kept her head down. She didn't dare look up for she knew she would glare at the Phantom if she so much as looked at him.

"Fraulien, are you ok?" she heard Kiri's horrified voice call out before she picked up her head to look at the child standing next to the Phantom who remained seated with a straight face.

"I'm fine, liebe," Monica told her masking the pain in her voice as her eyes started to tear up. She held back a groan when she shifted on the harsh ground irritating her bruises further. Kiri kept her wide eyes on her mother before turning to see the Phantom who merely remained still his eyes locked on the woman on stage.

"That is enough for today," she heard the Phantom say as Fleur started to pick up the various sheets of music in front of him. He stared to get up from the piano where he had been playing for over three hours before Monica's voice stopped him.

"Play it again, Fleur," she told him as he turned to look at the Phantom for orders. Monica managed to pick herself up with difficulty while he looked at his master for further instructions. Several more bruises on her arms and legs became visible once she was standing, they marked the number of falls she had during the past few days.

"That is enough," the Phantom told her as his jaw clenched warningly. His eyes briefly scanned her weak form on the stage; he didn't want to push her any further. He had already lost sleep due to seeing the harsh purple and black bruises adorning her skin due to him interrupting her time and time again.

Monica managed to catch a glimpse of guilt on his face as he looked at her which only upset her further. He treated her as if she were a glass ballerina, afraid of breaking her if he pushed her too hard. She looked at Fleur with a defiant face while he stared back scared of disobeying the Opera Ghost.

"Play the damn song, Fleur," she ordered with a stronger voice ignoring the Phantom's piercing gaze as she said those words. Fleur nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned to look at the Phantom and saw the warning glance the specter was giving him.

Monica walked over to the edge of the orchestra pit and crouched on the edge of it in order to look down at Fleur who kept glancing at the keys of the piano stuck in between two opposing forces.

"I'll deal with him later, Fleur," she told him as he glanced up at her and then caught sight of some of the bruises that poked out of her clothing despite her attempts to hide them. She caught him staring and pulled her sleeves down further in order to cover some of the nastier looking bruises.

"Very well, mademoiselle," Fleur told her nodding and sitting back down as he opened the book he had picked up full of sheets with notes written all over them. He made a mental note to avoid looking at the fuming Opera Ghost.

Monica picked up where she had left off with more determination without glancing at the Phantom who by now was practically seething next to Kiri who tried to calm him down by poking his shoulder and offering him a toothy smile. It seemed to help if only for a moment as he watched Monica go through the routine once more.

She made sure she made all of the corrections that he had pointed out; she finished with an impossible turn and jump combination that would have scared any other dancer to attempt in her weakened state.

Kiri immediately stood up and clapped while the Phantom remained silent when she looked to him for approval. He would never ask her to dance in such a state, and she had defied him once more and gone through with it nonetheless.

She frowned as he stood up without saying another word and started to head back down to the lair before her phone went off causing him to halt in his tracks.

"Lucy?" Monica answered as the woman on the other line tried to sound as frantic as humanly possible.

"What…I'll be right there," Monica answered before hanging up. She looked at Kiri and grimaced, from what she had heard she didn't want Kiri to be there if Jack was going to be present as well.

"I have to go home, liebe," Monica told her as Kiri rushed to her side with tears in her eyes.

"But I want to stay with Erik," Kiri cried hugging Monica tightly.

"I know," Monica whispered in her ear before she looked at the Phantom who stood a few feet away with a straight face, "I have to go, it's an emergency…can you please watch her…just for one hour or two?" Monica asked him as he stepped back.

"Where are you going, and why is the child not able to follow?" he asked her as she bit her bottom lip. He was going to get answers out of her one way or another no matter how hard she tried to cover up the reason for her leaving.

"It's Jack, and the other gang of bikers," she told him as he clenched his jaw.

"No," he replied almost immediately. She sighed in discontent and pleaded with him but his expression never changed.

"I have to solve this problem, I can't sit back and let it get out of control," she told him as he continued to watch her with a blank expression.

"No," he told her once more knowing full well the risks that came with letting her go. There was always the chance of losing her and that was too much to bare, he couldn't even bring himself to think of what he would do without her.

"I need to do this, please," she begged as he voice cracked at the end. She was losing precious time, the more time the Jackals spent in her territory the risk of them running into her gang grew. The last thing she needed was for a shootout to occur or for her to lose one of her men.

The Phantom looked down at Kiri who clung on to his cape and stared up at Monica with fearful eyes. He understood what the poor child must have gone through every time her parents put on their jackets and headed out. The fear of them never returning was always there, until one day her fears had come true.

Now she was going through the same thing with Monica, having to bare with the pain of letting her go knowing she might not return.

"I will be back, I promise," she told him as he looked at her with a concerned look. She cupped his cheek as he breathed out slowly and nodded. She managed a weak smile before dropping her hand and crouching to hug Kiri who remained attached to the Phantom's cape for comfort.

"I will come back before you know it, liebe," Monica told her as Kiri flung herself at Monica and hugged her for dear life.

"Please come back, mami," she whispered into her mother's ear before letting go. Monica rushed over to the side of the stage and slipped on her boots and jacket before glancing back at the Phantom and blowing him a kiss and waving goodbye to Kiri.

She practically rushed out of the theatre and mounted her bike as she slipped on her gloves and drove away as she practically flew through traffic narrowly avoiding a couple of collisions due to her skipping red lights. The further she went out towards her house however the cars seemed to decrease and the road was free allowing her to pick up her speed.

As she got closer to her house however she could immediately tell something was off. The air around her started to get darker and darker despite the moon shining above her, and the stench of burning wood reached her nose which only sent her into a panic mode as she drove up to her home and nearly fell off of her bike in horror.

Flames rose up around the home she had once shared with her family, the bikers all around her shouting orders to put the fire out were drowned out as ashes fell from the sky all around her mingling in her hair and clothes.

"Judas…what happened?" Monica choked out catching the attention of several bikers as the one in question practically ran up to her and hugged her tightly.

"Jesus Christ! We all thought you were dead!" he exclaimed holding her close to him as the panic that had been present diminished for a moment.

"Didn't Lucy call you? I was in the city…" she told him as he paled considerably now that she was present and out of harm's way.

"Shit…someone call Lucifer and Gabriel!" A biker in the back shouted upon spotting her as Monica looked to Judas for answers.

"Well you see, we all thought you and Kiri were in there," he started, "word got out that we couldn't stop the fire…and Lucifer stormed out of the bar followed by Gabriel blaming himself for this," he told her as Monica brought up a hand to her mouth upon realizing what he was trying to tell her.

"Where did he go, where is he Judas?" she asked horrified shaking the biker in front of her as the tears finally fell. Everything caught up to her; the crackling flames in the background only proved to her that this wasn't a dream, that it was all real.

Her horses had managed to get out of the stables and were running loose out on the acres behind the house neighing madly when she suddenly remembered the rest of her animals.

"Oh my god! My dogs!" she cried out as she broke loose of Judas' hold and ran towards the house. She managed to get close but Joker managed to hook an arm around her waist and swing her away from the roaring flames that were close to licking her flesh as she struggled in his grasp.

To make matters worse barks were heard from within the house followed by desperate whines and cries from the pair of Rottweilers before they went silent. The hand that she had been holding out dropped as she realized they were now dead, along with all of her snakes and belongings.

"Sorry, babe," Joker whispered to her as she remembered her current predicament and stopped struggling.

"Who did this?" she asked in a cold voice as Joker glanced down at the woman in her arms and released her knowing she wouldn't try to run back into the house.

"Jackals, word is they've been hanging around hunting down Jack…someone told them they had seen him around this area, naturally they thought he was hiding out with you so they decided to take out two birds with one stone," he told her as she nodded.

She walked over to her bike as she left her burning house behind. The bikers that she passed by all bowed their heads in respect while the smell of burnt wood lingered around them.

She mounted her bike once more with a cold look in her eyes as she turned to Joker, "Take care of my horses, make sure nothing happens to them…inform the rest of the gang, I don't want anyone acting stupidly," she told him before she revved up her bike. The deafening roar caused several men to step back before Judas looked at his leader.

"Where are you going?" he asked her as she turned to him with a disturbing blank expression.

"To check on the devil himself," she told him before skidding and turning her bike around in order to drive over to Lucifer's house.

The drive there was rather torturous, endless questions plagued her mind. Why hadn't Lucy called to tell her gang that she was safe? Who had led the Jackals to believe that Jack was hiding with her? The answer was foggy to her but the reasons were clear, they wanted to get rid of her and Lucifer.

With that in mind she drove up to the large mansion a few miles away from what had once been her own. The lights were all off and a dead silence surrounded the place which was unlike Lucifer, that alone managed to make her rush over to the front door despite her aching body.

"Lucifer!" she yelled banging on the black wooden door and pausing to hear if anyone was home. She grew worried once she knocked once more and no one answered. She walked over to a large window and braced herself before ramming her elbow into it shattering the glass. Her dark blood mixed with her black jacket as it flowed out of the new wound as she climbed in cautiously and stared to look around for her second in command.

"Lucifer?" she called out getting scared as seconds went by and he didn't answer. She rushed upstairs and paused before opening the door leading into his bedroom. She nearly fainted when she saw him sprawled on his bed with an empty bottle of Everclear on the ground next to him.

She rushed over as tears started to pool at the bottom of her eyes. She stretched out a shaking hand and put her fingers on his neck to see if he was still alive. She couldn't live with herself if he died because of her.

She felt a faint pulse; it was there…but barely.

"Lucifer, what did you do?" she cried as she looked around and tried to calm herself down. She remembered the time when her father had walked in carrying her brother over his shoulder intoxicated to the point of near death. She remembered her father had thrown him in the tub filled with cold water and ice cubes rather unmercifully and waited until he came to.

That in mind she managed to pull Lucifer off of his bed and drag him into his bathroom before she let the shower run. She turned the knob and made sure it was the coldest it could possibly go to, before she managed to take his jacket off and dragged him in with shaking arms.

She collapsed in the shower holding him close to her shaking body as her teeth chattered due to the chilling water that was hitting her skin. Lucifer shivered for a brief moment but made no further movement which made her worry.

She recalled her father telling her that it took time for them to finally come to; she just wished he would show more signs of life.

"My fault…I…."Lucifer mumbled as she looked down at him and pulled him closer when he frowned slightly, "my fault…." he added as she pulled back her drenched hair and leaned back on the cold wall.

She didn't even want to think of what would have happened if she arrived later. All that mattered now was for him to wake, that was all she asked for, for him to be alright….

OoOoOoOoOooOoO

"It didn't work, he's still alive," Lucy told the man next to her as she hung up her phone after talking to Judas, the man next to her let the smoke from his cigarette escape through his nostrils in a displeased manner.

"I should have known she would be there for him," he told her as Lucy grimaced.

"The Jackals burned her house down, but she wasn't there…or the child," she added, "everything is wrong, she was supposed to be there before they burned it down…and Lucifer was supposed to kill himself after finding out," she added snarling when she realized that neither of their targets were dead.

The man next to her laughed causing her to look at him for answers.

"What's so damn funny? The whore is still alive, and so is the devil that protects her as if she was his," she told him with hate apparent in her voice.

"Don't distress yourself, what's your rush?" the man told her taking a long drag of his cigarette, "you're in the damn musical, you can keep a close watch on her, analyze the time she spends away from the Ghost," he told her, "when we have enough information, we'll take the child like we had planned," he told her as she smiled back at him.

"You can have what you want, and I can have what is rightfully mine," she told him as he nodded and offered her one of his intoxicating grins. She offered him one of her own before reaching out for her glass of red wine.

"Things are going to work out, let them run their course, Lucy," he told her as she sipped the wine and settled back down next to him and watched the fire in front of him.

"Your right, Jack," Lucy told him, "rehearsals start tomorrow, I'll let you know everything that goes on," she told him before he stood and threw his cigarette in the roaring fire.

"I knew she wouldnt die in the fire, she would never go down in such a feeble manner, it'll be more fun to tear her away from the Phantom later on when she thinks everything has gone back to normal," Jack commented as he licked his bottom lip and looked out of the window with malice evident in his eyes.

"I don't understand why you love her like you do."

"Neither do I."

**Little bonus here at the end..I am in need of an OC she has to be a girl, a dancer to be specific, if you are interested just leave a review with your OC description, Bio., etc. I'll take the first one to review and ask for it so good luck to you all. Dont forget to review! **


	29. Don't Let Go

**Don't Let Go...**

**A/N: Well I got more OC replies than intended XD I used the first that I got like I had said, but I'll try to find places for the rest of the OC since there werent that many. This is more of a filler chappie, because trust me...people are going to die in the next chapter...like alot of them. D; Hope you enjoy it, the OC belongs to SammiRichGurl :D**

The first thing that Lucifer registered was the freezing temperature in which he found himself in. He found himself drifting in and out of consciousness. A constant reminder of the temperature hit him without mercy, the cold water rushing down his body; he wondered how he had gotten there. Then again, he didn't remember much of anything.

He sighed and dropped his head upon feeling the headache that loomed over him, his body ached all over and all he wanted to do was sleep and never wake up again. The damn water however prevented that.

A sudden shiver startled him and made him want to wake up, he didn't recall his body shaking before, the sudden development intrigued him. Slowly but surely he forced his eyes open and looked around. Everything was a black blur at first, but after a moment his senses started to come back to him.

He registered a body other than his own holding him, the constant shivering of the arms around him startled him enough to move his head to see who it was. He could clearly make out the shape of a woman, and upon closer inspection he realized it was Monica.

That alone made his blood run cold.

She was dead, wasn't she?

Suddenly it all came rushing back, from the call that Judas had made to him storming out of the bar with Gabriel close behind arguing that it might all be wrong. He had nearly drank all of the alcohol he could get his hands on, unfortunately for him all he could find was a bottle of Everclear that lay a third of the way empty on his coffee table.

He didn't remember much after the first three shots, but as he looked around he noticed he was in his bathroom. The shower was turned on and chilling water kept hitting him head on, he couldn't help but chuckle at the woman next to him.

She still remembered everything her father had warned her about. Running a gang of bikers was no easy task; in fact it was probably one of the most difficult in the world. You had members getting into motorcycle accidents night and day, rivals breathing down your neck with guns, and a whole gang of men to look after.

Lucifer wondered how long they had been in the shower; by the pain of the headache he could only assume it had been over four hours. He had to give it to her, she had endurance. Now that he really thought of it, the shower would probably benefit him the most and get her sick due to the prolonged period that she had spent with him.

"Hey, wake up," he groaned shifting slightly as her head shot up from its hung position and turned to look over at him. She sniffled before realizing he was awake, finally, he stared at her with that stupid grin of his that showed off his pointed canines.

"You bastard," she croaked back knowing that the cold water had done wonders to distort her voice. She managed a weak smile as he propped himself up and held back a hiss of pain as his whole body protested and ached.

"Sorry, babe," he replied as she rolled her eyes at him and pulled him into a tight embrace. He welcomed the warmth and buried his face in the crook of her neck letting out a shaky breath trying to get himself back together if only for her sake.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she scolded as he pulled her closer to him.

"We all thought you were dead, the damn bastards who did it thought it would be amusing to boast about it…they said they had made sure you were in there," he told her as she felt his chest vibrate against her shaking frame. "Judas called to tell me it was a lost cause when they got there, I made a promise to Felix, beautiful," he told her as she froze upon hearing her father's name. "I assured him that nothing would happen to you while I was still breathing, I guess I did a poor job in keeping my promise," he added bitterly thinking of what would have happened if she was dead due to his carelessness with her.

"But I'm not dead, Lucifer," she told him as he shivered when a cold gush of wind hit them. She held back a shiver of her own, "I suggest we get out of here, "she told him as he groaned before nodding. She pulled away and stood shakily. She waited for her body to gain its balance before offering a hand to Lucifer.

He took it after a moment of preparing himself and nearly fell on top of her when his body swayed forward. She prepared herself and managed to hold him up while grabbing one of his arms and wrapping it around her shoulders while leading him to his bedroom.

She opened the door with a kick and led him towards his bed as he allowed himself to fall back on it with a deep sigh. Monica merely ignored his dramatics and walked over towards his large closet and disappeared for a moment before coming back with a pair of black sweat pants. She tossed them on top of him as he glanced at the article of clothing and then at her before sighing even more.

"You have to change, you can't sleep in those soaked clothes," she told him as he ignored her and rolled over on the large bed causing Monica to walk over and kick his leg slightly to get his attention.

"Yes mother, I will change into my nice warm clothes in a minute," he mumbled with his face buried in the black sheets as Monica held back a laugh. She turned away from him before she started to walk out of his room.

"Mother, may I ask why I have to change, and you don't?" he called after her as she paused and looked down at herself. Like him, she was also drenched from head to toe; she hung her head low and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hand trying to calm her nerves.

"Go to hell, Lucifer," she shot back as a low laugh reached her ears. He sat up and tilted his head at her as she stood in his doorway dripping wet.

"Where do you think I came from, doll?" he replied coyly as she resisted the urge to choke him.

"You're too happy for someone that nearly died of a hangover," she murmured underneath her breath as he shook his head and tossed the sweatpants at her along with a black tank top.

She took the pieces of clothing with a grateful smirk, "take care of yourself Lucifer, and try not to kill anyone, auf wiedersehen," she told him as he nodded to her as she waved goodbye and stepped out of his room. She headed towards his bathroom and quickly changed into the dry clothes which felt like heaven compared to the wet ones that weighed her down.

Granted she looked like a gangbanger's wife with the baggy sweatpants and the tight top, but at the moment she didn't care. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail before slipping on her boots and jacket and heading out of the large mansion.

She suppressed a shiver as she stepped outside and the unforgiving winter air struck her directly. She walked over to her motorcycle which had been covered over with a thin layer of snow as she swiped her hand across the seat and revved it up.

She had to shake her head from time to time to keep her focus on the road as she drove over to the Opera House once more. She would have to return soon to see what would be done about the Jackals, but all she needed right now was some much needed sleep.

She parked the bike outside of the massive gates and tossed the keys in the air while she walked over to the front doors. The snow beneath her boots gave away as it crunched loudly with every step.

She tilted her head upon seeing a woman standing outside trying to keep herself warm by hopping from one foot to the other as her brown hair danced behind her being held back in a ponytail as well.

The woman turned to her upon hearing the snow being crushed and nearly gasped when she saw Monica.

"I swear I might look like a gangbanger right now, but I'm not," Monica told her raising her hands in a freeze position as the woman eyed her wearily before a hesitant smile crept up on her face.

"I'm Giana, Giana Harold," she told the other woman offering her hand as Monica outstretched her own gloved one. She shook her hand and pulled her jacket around herself tighter before realizing that they were both standing outside in the cold when they could be inside.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to pardon my stupidity I haven't slept well in days," Monica told her opening the door much to Giana's surprise. She hadn't expected someone like her to have keys for the Opera House. "I assume you're one of the dancers that came to audition today?" Monica added looking back at her as Giana nodded and stepped in after the darkly dressed woman.

Her bright blue eyes scanned the foyer of the Opera Populair with wonder, she had been to many Opera Houses, but none could compare to the utter beauty of the one she was currently in.

"I'll teach you the dance myself, I will leave you to practice it and teach it to the other dancers while I rest for an hour or two," Monica told her leading the dancer to the main stage as Giana followed behind her looking at one thing after another.

Monica taught her the dance and approved of her once she noticed how quick she picked up everything. She then said her farewells and headed down to the lair dragging her feet the whole way down.

She arrived within a short period of time due to her knowing the way and headed towards the swan room when her boot stepped on something that uttered a shriek upon being stepped on.

Monica looked down tiredly and noticed a small rat staring up at her while trying to run away. Her face went paler than before as her whole body froze up. Her mind instantly remembering the pain she had felt with the bites the rats had given her that fateful night. She felt shivers run up and down her spine as she held herself trying to get over her fear but failing noticeably when she uttered a low cry.

"ERIK!" she screamed in utter terror as the Phantom rushed in from the library with a panicked expression on his face. She turned to face him and ran over to him with fear evident in her eyes as she practically jumped on him and threw her arms around his neck.

He managed to hold her up as her legs locked around his waist; she buried her face in his neck and clung on to him for dear life as her whole body shook uncontrollably.

"Please get rid of it…please!" she cried as the Phantom stood dumbstruck with one arm around her to keep her up. His eyes scanned the lair and found the culprit standing on its hind legs looking at the Opera Ghost with a blank expression in its beady little eyes.

He then remembered her fear of rats and immediately understood why she had reacted like that. He then proceeded to wrap both of his arms around her waist as he walked over to the rat and ushered it towards a tunnel leading deeper into the catacombs with a kick from the tip of his boot. The small animal scampered away instantly leaving the specter to deal with an already distressed woman clinging to him.

"The rat is gone," he whispered into her ear as she shook her head stubbornly and held on tighter. He could feel the damp spot she had left on his shirt due to her crying and after taking a moment he decided to carry her into his room.

He carried her over to his bed as she realized where they were and finally looked away from him if only for a moment. He stared back with a reassuring look as she slowly allowed her legs to fall from his body and she released the death grip she had on his neck.

She opened her mouth to ask him something only to have him place a finger over her lips.

"The child is upstairs in the dressing rooms with Fleur watching her, get some rest, mon amour," he told her as she smiled at the endearment that he had used. Her heart soared allowing her to forget for a moment the events that had occurred moments ago.

She placed a light kiss on the finger he had over her lips before laying back down on his bed. He stared at her with the same dumbfounded look as before.

The fact that a rat could scare her like that and not his face was something that his mind couldn't fathom. He thanked whatever force had told him to wear gloves that day, had she done that with his bare hand he didn't know if he would have been able to restrain himself from simply pulling her to him and crashing his lips down onto hers.

"I don't know what I would do without you, mon ange," she told him sleepily as he walked over to the door making sure to step as lightly as he possibly could.

"Neither do I," he whispered back to her closing the door behind him.

The soft click of the door was the last thing she registered before falling into a deep slumber.

**Review? Perhaps? I'll just stop trying :D**


	30. Glimmering in Red

**Glimmering in Red**

**A/N: Ah my reviewers are back :D Well, enjoy!**

"No, it's all wrong! You missed your entrance again!" Fleur barked as Monica jumped and turned to look at the young dancer that he was currently taking his frustrations out on. She dropped her head and stretched her sore arm as rehearsals went on around her.

"You'd think he'd lighten up once in a while…I haven't seen him smile once," Giana commented from her position on the ground as she stretched out her right leg. Monica glanced at her and then at Fleur before nodding in agreement. It had been a week and all he had done was shout orders, granted they were all from the Phantom, his voice rang in their ears constantly.

"Can we finish already? I have things to do, and places to be at!" Lucy yelled above everyone as Fleur cringed upon hearing the diva holler at him.

"Miss Rothesay rehearsals take time, you should have taken care of your priorities before coming here," Fleur shot back as Lucy huffed and stormed off of the stage. Monica glanced after her with worry before shrugging at Giana who was looking at her with a confused look.

"_Sing, prima donna, once more!" _Monica sang quietly making Giana laugh as she stared after Lucy's raging figure.

The rest of the rehearsal went by with Fleur losing his voice due to everything going wrong, the ballet girls falling over each other, props rolling across the stage, and singers missing their cues. Fleur finally dismissed them with a defeated look before slouching down on a chair amongst the sea of velvet seats.

They had been rehearsing for over two weeks and the musical still had a long way to go.

"I have to say, this was one of the worst rehearsals ever," Monica commented looking towards box 5. Without fail the Phantom stared back with a glare and a slight sneer as she looked away wearily. He had been pushing them too hard, sooner or later they were going to break one by one. The shadows hid him well, but not enough for Monica to miss his presence.

He was also irritated due to her leaving in order to retrieve Kiri and get some things from her new house, the fact of living without her for one day was almost too much to bare.

Giana stared slightly in the direction Monica had been observing moments ago but saw nothing but an empty box seat. She dismissed the thought and started to gather her thing as Monica walked with her and started to change as well.

Giana fixed her hair before looking over when something caught her eye. She observed as Monica slipped on leather pants followed by biker boots as the young dancer looked at her curiously.

"What?" Monica asked confused as Giana shook her head and smiled slightly.

"It's just…I just noticed that you wear a lot of leather…you're not in a gang are you?" Giana asked worriedly as Monica threw back her head and laughed heartedly. She tried to hold back but failed as her laughs echoed off of the walls. Giana stood in front of her wondering what was so funny.

"Sorry love, but I am…ever heard of the Bastards?" Monica told her struggling to contain her laughter. Giana's face went pale as she recalled her brief encounter with bikers, the fact that the woman in front of her was with them disturbed her greatly.

Monica's smile dropped and her laugh died down immediately when she noticed Giana standing stiffly in front of her with a look of utter fear.

"I'm sorry…did I say something I shouldn't have?" Monica asked pulling her jacket to her as she stood up as well. Giana blanked out slightly before she noticed Monica standing before her waving her hand back and forth in front of her face.

"No, it's just that I haven't had a pleasant experience with bikers," she told the woman as Monica's face dropped into a troubling frown.

"Was it one of my men?" Monica asked grimly reaching for her phone ready to call Lucifer before Giana shook her head. That caused the biker to tilt her head in curiosity. "Which gang was it?" she asked before she could stop herself as Giana found herself being pulled back into the past.

"…I can't remember," she whispered quietly as Monica nodded and dropped the subject. Her curiosity could wait; she didn't want to upset Giana any further.

"Well, I'm afraid I have to go, I have to pick up my child," Monica told her turning to leave as Giana paused and started to panic once she remembered that she had to walk home and it was late already.

"Hey, I was wondering if I could maybe tag along with you, I mean, I don't want to walk on the streets alone," Giana called after Monica as the other woman paused and turned to look at her. She thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"I hope you don't mind bars," Monica told her as she walked outside towards her bike. Giana looked around and shivered at the cold night air before Monica paused and slipped on her jacket, the grinning skull with horns and fangs that stared back at her stirred memories that she had tried to forget. She shook the thought off before hopping on after the biker.

Monica revved the bike up before skidding into a turn and heading towards the bar where Kiri and the rest of her gang was. She kept glancing back at Giana who had a faraway look in her eyes before she noticed that they had arrived at their destination.

Giana didn't mind the stop that they made. It was a nice change from her constant busy life, the only thing that made it less enjoyable were the men that were probably inside.

"If any of them try anything, tell me," Monica warned her before offering her a smile and walking in with her head held high, the complete opposite of Giana. She followed the woman with her head hung low and her arms around her frame looking up from time to time as she walked through the bar.

Several heads turned but nothing out of the ordinary happened. The thing that shocked her was the lack of cigarette smoke in the air and the stumbling drunk men.

"Fraulein!" a child's voice exclaimed breaking her thoughts. She turned to see a small girl running towards Monica with outstretched hands followed by an intimidating biker who reminded her of the devil. The only thing that took away from his image was the black teddy bear that he held in his hands.

"Hello, love," Monica told the child as she hugged her and spun her in the air. Giana stood back confused beyond belief. She had never seen bikers like these; they seemed to be holding back on smoking and drinking because of the child that was present.

"Can we stay ten more minutes?" Kiri asked as Monica sighed and nodded. There was nothing that she would deny when it came to Kiri.

"I hope you don't mind, it's just for a few minutes," Monica said as she turned to look at Giana who stood out like a sore thumb. Everyone around her was wearing black leather while she stood in the middle wearing white. "Come, relax a bit, nothing will happen I promise," Monica reassured her as she took a seat on the bar and ordered a glass of wine for herself. "Do you want anything?" she asked turning to the dancer beside her.

Giana glanced at the bartender who stared expectantly at her, "just a glass of water, please," she told him as he nodded and turned to retrieve the glass. Monica was about to ask something else when she was interrupted by a rather strange voice.

"Well, what is a girl like you doing with the Bastards?" a man asked as Monica spun to face him. The face that greeted her wasn't a familiar one. It was a biker from another gang, while her bar didn't have anything against other gangs she preferred to have it for her own men only.

"None of your damn business," Monica shot back turning away from him and back to the bar. She didn't want to start anything tonight.

"And who is your lovely friend?" another voice asked as Monica growled lowly while lowering her head trying to ignore the pair behind them.

Giana stared at the second biker and turned towards the bar as well, she tried to mask the fear that was running through her veins as she scooted closer to Monica without thinking.

"Come on babe, why so serious?" the first biker asked placing his gloved hand on Monica's shoulder as she uttered another growl. Giana found herself in the same predicament with the other biker taking the seat next to hers and scooting closer to her.

"I would like to know what your hand is doing on my girl's shoulder," a voice snarled as the first biker turned with a stupid grin towards the source ready to beat whoever was stupid enough to question him. He was met with none other than Lucifer himself as the devil stared him down dangerously.

"That's my girlfriend, get away from her before I beat you to death," another voice came from behind Lucifer. Monica sighed in relief when she saw Judas stand next to Lucifer and grip the biker who was close to Giana by his jacket and pull him away from her with a brutal force.

"I don't see any name on her, as far as I can tell, she's game," the first biker said standing up to Lucifer as the rest of the bikers in the bar laughed at the idiot.

"She's mine," Lucifer growled warningly through clenched teeth as the younger biker stood his ground stupidly.

Monica simply played along and threw Giana a look that told her to follow their little act as well. She turned from the bar and smiled at Lucifer knowing this wouldn't end well for the younger biker who remained glaring at the devil.

Judas kept his grip on the other biker as he started to get the picture. His friend and him hadn't noticed that the two men who were claiming the girls had been Bastards, their name fit them and they had a reputation for brutality.

"Come on, Raoul, it's not worth it…they can keep the girls," the second biker stammered when Judas glared at him before letting him go sensing he was getting the picture. He motioned for Giana to come to him, the young dancer found herself playing along as she got up from the stool shakily and stumbled over to the biker who had scared off the other biker.

Judas wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled comfortingly at her as the other biker continued to try and stare Lucifer down.

"Boy, are you mad? I will not hesitate to break every bone in your body if you continue to claim her as yours," Lucifer warned him in a low voice gritting his teeth as the biker got a look at the canines of the taller man.

"Raoul, come on," the other called as he turned to leave. Judas stared at him still and when he turned away he noted the patch on his jacket. Jackal, he should have known.

"You don't know who I am, I can beat your ass any day," Raoul countered back boastingly as Lucifer snapped and pulled his hand back while clenching it into a fist.

"Lucifer, enough!" Monica yelled as the biker halted and glared at her demanding an explanation. He immediately saw the reason. Kiri stood beside Monica clinging to her leg and hiding slightly from him. "You're scaring her," Monica mouthed in outrage as Lucifer straightened himself up and nodded to Judas who let Giana go with a nod. Giana nodded back thankfully, she didn't know what she would have done had he not stepped in when he did.

"Kiri go outside with Giana and wait for me by the car," Monica told the small child as she nodded and proceeded to walk towards Giana who took the child's hand and walked outside glancing back at Monica worriedly.

Monica offered her a smile before they stepped out of the bar.

"You let your whore control you, I knew she was worth my time," Raoul commented looking at Monica before he was practically thrown back with the punch that he received from Lucifer. Monica stepped out of the way calmly as the biker came crashing towards her and slammed into the bar, Lucifer right behind him cracking his knuckles.

"I'll be at my aunt's house if you need me," Monica told him before she left. She turned without another word; she didn't stop the fight because the imbecile on the ground deserved every punch that Lucifer gave him.

She left the bar and tossed the keys to her car to Giana as she stared dumbfoundedly at her.

"I'll take the bike, you can take my car to your place, I hate seeing you walk home when it's late and cold," she told the dancer before she hopped on the bike followed by Kiri who mounted the motorcycle after her mother and took a seat in front of her.

Giana was about to say something back before Monica stopped her and revved the bike before leaving her with her car's keys.

The young dancer had only known the biker for two weeks and she had already trusted her with her car. She had never had anyone who trusted her like that, she was grateful.

Giana opened the car door and tossed her bag into the passenger's seat before driving away.

Monica on the other hand pulled up to her new house. Her aunt had found out about her other house burning down and had demanded that she lived in her vacation home for the time being. The only thing that she liked about the luxurious mansion was the fact that it was closer to the city and her bar.

As she walked towards her door however she failed to notice the shattered window on the side of the house. She walked into the house and hung up her coat as Kiri ran upstairs towards her room exhausted beyond compare.

Monica sighed in content as she saw her child close the door behind her as she headed into the large kitchen to get a glass of water. She found it strange that none of the maids were around but brushed the thought off as she rose the glass to her lips and started to drink the water before a scream tore through the house.

She dropped the glass and rushed out of the kitchen as she rushed upstairs; on her way there she grabbed the revolver that she kept hidden behind one of the cushions. She opened the door and was outraged when she saw the sight that greeted her.

Vane stood in her room with Kiri in his arms as her child thrashed around in his arms, she kicked and scratched as much as she could but it was useless against the biker who held her.

"Let her go, Vane" Monica warned as the biker pulled the child closer.

"A boy of ours stumbled in to our bar, he was a bloody mess, Miss Hyde," he snarled as Monica stood her ground and held the revolver behind her back hidden from his view.

"He was crossing the line, Stryker should know better than to let his dogs wander into my home," she shot back looking at him dangerously while Kiri stared at her with fear written all over her features.

"The biker that Lucifer nearly killed was his brother," Vane growled at her as she stepped back slightly. This changed things drastically, there was tension before, now there would surely be fights breaking out with them.

"Let her go, she isn't involved in this," Monica told her as he shook his head and laughed.

"Stryker wants her, and what the boss wants he gets, he'll make her go through the same thing his brother went through," Vane told her smiling wickedly while he said it.

Monica blanked out and remembered her father once more, he had told her that one day it would come to this. She would have to break one of her own promises to herself in order to defend her own family; she didn't want it to come to this.

"You're not taking her anywhere," Monica whispered pulling out the revolver and gripping the trigger before pulling it. The crack rang through all of their ears before Kiri felt the grip that Vane had one her lessen. He looked down to his chest and found himself looking at a bullet wound on his chest.

The blood flowed freely out of it, he looked at Monica and smiled before dropping to his knees and then to the floor. She had finally killed someone, that had been one of his personal goals; you weren't a true biker until you killed for your own.

Shouts were heard from downstairs as several more bikers raced up the stairs upon hearing a gun go off.

"Hide," Monica whispered to Kiri as the small child looked at her in horror. Monica had never meant for her to see that but there was no other way of getting out of the situation. "Kirimi, hide!" Monica told her once more as Kiri nodded and crawled under the bed before more bikers showed up.

Monica turned towards the door and shot the next man that came in, followed by the next. She checked her gun and noted that she had used all of her bullets by the time the last biker came to her room. With every man that fell she felt a part of her die, she had lost the respect that she had for herself when she pulled the trigger. She was nothing but a monster now.

"Miss Hyde, look at the masterpiece you've created," Boogeyman chuckled as he walked into the room. He stepped over the dead bodies of his men; he counted six of them including Vane. Stryker wouldn't be too happy to hear this.

Monica held the gun in her shaking hand as tears of horror ran down her face. What was she? What had she done?

"You're out of bullets my dear," Boogeyman snarled as he walked over to her and caught her in a death grip around her neck. He rose her up off of the floor as Kiri watched her mother's feet disappear from the ground.

"Where's the kid?" he snarled shaking her as she choked and tried to break free of the grip he had on her. She felt her life being taken from her; she couldn't fail Kiri like this. If she died he would take her back to Stryker and hell would break loose.

Kiri covered her mouth with both of her hands and tried to stay quiet as she heard Monica choking.

"Go to hell," she snarled as she reached into her boot and pulled out a knife with the remaining strength that she had and plunged it into his chest. He let her go as she crashed to the ground as he followed but not without pulling out his own gun.

He pulled the trigger as another shot rang throughout the house, Monica crashed back against her wardrobe while gripping her shoulder as it dripped with blood. The wound was one of the most painful things she had ever felt.

Boogeyman turned his head to the side of the bed and caught a sight of Kiri hiding beneath it as he smirked before he too closed his eyes and stopped breathing. Monica found herself breathing heavily as she collapsed in front of the bed and motioned for Kiri to get out of the bed.

"We have to go, liebe," she told the child as Kiri nodded slowly understanding that her mother wasn't a bad person, she had merely done it to save her from the bad man who wanted to take her.

Monica staggered down the stairs holding her wound as Kiri rushed towards the door knowing that their house wasn't safe anymore. Monica pulled her jacket off of the coat hanger and wrapped it around Kiri before opening the door and holding it for support before stumbling towards her bike.

She got on it with difficulty and waited for Kiri to put her jacket on before turning it on and driving away. Just as she neared the bar however three more bikes fell in behind her as one of the Jackals pulled out another gun and started to rain bullets towards her. Kiri cringed and clung to her shoulder making her grit her teeth in pain as the child found herself smeared in her own mother's blood.

The biker managed to hit one of her tires as she lost control of the bike and managed to skid it to the side as she grabbed Kiri and waited for the inevitable fall. The collision with the iced road came hard as she cried out but refused to let go of Kiri.

The child was safe from most of the scratching and bruises due to her wearing the leather jacket, Monica took on the hits for her as her body skid down the road feet away from the bar as Kiri stood up and rushed over to the entrance.

Monica found it in herself to drag her body towards it before Lucifer came out with a gun followed by the rest of her men upon seeing Kiri smeared with blood. Judas rushed over to Monica and helped her up as she continued to cry freely, she wasn't even trying to hold the tears back, the pain was too much and her conscience wasn't doing too well either.

She kept remembering the six bullets that she had used on the bikers and the knife she had used to kill the seventh.

"You goddamn pigs!" Lucifer thundered as he pulled out the AK-47 that they kept in the bar and unleashed a stream of bullets on the bikers that were riding towards them. They all fell dead off of their bikes as the motorcycles skidded on the road.

But it didn't end there.

"Brother, you've changed too much for my liking," a voice called from the side as Lucifer turned and pointed the gun towards the source of it. Lucifer hated the blood that he shared with the man who stood in front of him; he wished he would drop dead and save him some bullets.

"You have too, Stryker," Lucifer replied without lowering the gun as several Jackals stepped in behind their leader.

"You had this coming, we've killed each other for far too long, lets settle it," Stryker called back as he pulled out his own gun.

The two sides sized each other up as guns were pointed and glares were set. The area around them grew eerily quiet before the first shot rang out, then it all rose into a marvelous crescendo of bullets and shouts as bikers from both sides fell.

Stryker turned away from the clash when a bullet shot the gun out of his hand and mounted his bike followed by the remaining members of his gang as Lucifer struggled to hold up the AK-47 with the bullet wound that he hand on his arm and stomach.

The streets ran red with blood as the Bastards looked around and found that their numbers had decreased drastically.

Monica looked around with sorrow as her men lay dead on the ground, she cried even harder when she saw Joker on his knees gripping his neck as she stumbled over to him and fell on her knees in front of him.

"No, no, no, no," she cried desperately as she held her own hand over his as it was covered in blood. He was fading and she knew it, he smiled despite himself as he caressed her cheek smearing blood on it without noticing before he fell into her arms. She held him close as he drew his last breath, she uttered a low cry as she held him close to her and brushed her hand over his hair wishing he would wake and tell her everything was going to be ok.

Voodoo lay in front of them already dead with several wounds on his chest, not far from him Gabriel coughed up blood and staggered over to Lucifer who was in the same predicament as both to them swayed in their spot before spitting out more blood, their breathing ragged and forced.

Judas clutched his chest as blood seeped through his fingers before he too collapsed on the ground.

"Shit…J-Judas, y-you bastard…don't die on me just yet," Lucifer murmured coughing out blood as he tried to walk over to him but failed when too went down on his knees. Monica's cries reached their ears as they echoed off of the street. They were all dead, very few were alive and they were struggling to remain that way.

"Oh shit…what the hell happened?" Logan exclaimed as he parked his car and rushed out to see the massacre that had occurred. He noticed that Joker was dead, that meant that there would be hell to pay for his death. He had barely driven up to the bar and half of the gang was dead.

"I have to get you all to the hospital," he commented helping Judas who merely hung over his shoulder like a rag doll before putting him in the car and heading back for the rest of them.

In total there were only six remaining members that were alive, out of thirty that had been present at the bar. Kiri remained inside after Joker had told her to stay put.

Logan rushed into the bar as he pulled the child close to him and offered her a hug, "there's no time to be doing this, Kirimi, we have to get everyone to the hospital," he told her as she nodded and walked out with him.

Logan made sure to cover her eyes as they stepped outside, she didn't want her to see the people that had died…especially Voodoo and Joker.

He got into the car and sat her on his lap telling her to keep her eyes closed; he didn't want her to see the dying men in the back seat either. His car was quickly coated with dark red blood; every second that went by they ran the risk of dying.

When he arrived they were all taken from his car into separate directions as Monica struggled when she was them taking Lucifer away, his arm hung over the side of the hospital bed lifelessly, his face eerily pale.

She too was dragged away by the doctors as Logan remained in the waiting room with Kiri as the nurse that had been at the desk walked over to them with papers. Logan stared at her as she read the doctor's report.

"They all have slim chances of survival, but the doctors are trying," she told him as he paled and sat back on his chair.

He hung his head and for the first time in over a century, he began to pray to the God that had forgotten about him long ago.

**Review, their lives depend on it...trust me, there are more people that are going to die...**


	31. Crimson Beauty

**Crimson Beauty**

**A/N: So little reviews..but the ones that did review made my day :D Add a little background info, a new gang, and Jack...and voila! You get this chappie! Enjoy!**

Fleur stood in front of the stage with a grim expression on his face as he watched the dancers go through their routine. He would have been enjoying it if he didn't have the Phantom fuming a few feet away from him.

The fact that Monica wasn't back yet made is bad mood increase as he watched from Box 5. Fleur turned his attention once more onto the stage and tried his best to ignore the Opera Ghost who kept burning holes into his back.

Giana stood in the center running through the dance with a troubled expression; she had a bad feeling about her friend's absence. She faltered slightly on the part that they hadn't gotten down yet as Fleur shook his head and stopped them with a wave of his hand.

"63 dead! Can you believe it?" a voice yelled from the entrance as every head turned to look at Lucy who held up a newspaper and shook it in the air. Fleur turned as well as his brow furrowed when he saw the smile that the diva was trying to hide.

"I told you it was going to happen, the Jackals never got along with the Bastards," Lucy added as she looked at the man that was walking next to her. Fleur turned to look at the Phantom only to find him standing with a pale expression on his features.

"Did you say Bastards?" Giana asked as she walked over to the edge of the stage with concern. Lucy nodded and handed the newspaper to her as the young dancer skimmed through the article.

"Both sides lost men in the shootout that occurred during the midnight hours when the city slept…leaders from both sides are dead…police expect both sides will clash again," Giana read skipping lines in the article as she read for names. "Joker is dead?" she whispered to herself when she read the name of the biker that she had met a few hours ago. She recognized several other names that Monica had mentioned but failed to find her name mentioned anywhere.

"Why is this our concern?" another dancer asked as Giana dropped the newspaper and turned to look at him.

"I know several people who are involved in this…I need to leave," she told him before facing Fleur. Fleur merely glanced at the Phantom for orders but found the Opera Ghost still unresponsive as he nodded at the young dancer who immediately took off with the paper still in her hands.

"Due to the inconvenience rehearsals will continue tomorrow, I expect all of you to be present…you are dismissed," Fleur told them as everyone present started to pick up and leave including Lucy who left with an arrogant stride and a smile on her face knowing that Monica would be present for a while.

"What do you want me to do, Master?" Fleur asked as he walked into Box 5 only to find the Phantom leaning up against a pillar. He looked at sea of seats with a faraway look before he straightened himself up and turned to look at Fleur.

"I want to know everything that occurred…I want to know where she is," he told the younger man in a low voice as Fleur nodded and immediately set out to do what he had been told. He knew better than to stick around when the Phantom was unstable, and at the moment he didn't look like he was handling the news too well.

The Phantom watched as the younger man rushed out of the theater before he turned sharply and slammed his fist up against the wall. It echoed eerily as he stood there with clenched teeth, he knew letting her go was a bad decision on his part.

The smile on the blond woman's lips when she came in with the newspaper didn't please him either; in fact everything about her displeased him. He would have to keep a close watch on her while she was in his domain, but at the moment all he cared about was his muse. The voice of the young dancer kept repeating over and over in his thoughts.

'_63 dead…' _

He didn't care about the number; all he cared about was the woman that had made her way into his life. He couldn't afford to lose her; he couldn't even begin to think of what he would do without her.

With that in mind he turned sharply and descended the stairs before waiting for Fleur to come back, all he could do was hope that she wasn't one of the 63 bodies that were recovered.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Giana drove through the city in a hurry, to say that she was a nervous wreck was an understatement. She kept griping the steering wheel with shaking hands as her knuckles started to turn white. She slammed down on the breaks when she noticed the light had turned red up ahead and sighed trying to calm herself.

If she kept driving like that she would end up killing herself, she leaned back on the chair and tried to concentrate on other things before the roar of motorcycles startled her and caused her to look up ahead.

She knew that both of the major biker gangs in France were down, so to see motorcycles during that time didn't make sense, both sides would be recovering not riding through the city. It wasn't until she saw the patches on their jackets that she started to panic once more; it wasn't any of the gangs that she had been introduced to.

A snarling wolf stared at her as the gang of bikers turned and headed in the same direction that she was heading, the people around them stopping and allowing them to pass through.

"Werewolves of London…" Giana whispered as she looked at their name on their jackets and wondered where she had seen it before. She shook the thought off when several of the men pulled their heads back and howled sending chills up her spine. She could see where they got their names from, the symphony of howls startled her, they truly sounded like wolves out for blood.

The light turned green and despite that Giana found herself staring at the bikes that rode up ahead as cars from behind started to beep at her. She shook her head and snapped out of her thoughts as she drove over to the closest hospital and parked outside. Immediately she could see the same bikes from before parked outside, some of the men were still on them with a smoke in their hands while the others remained inside.

Giana's curiosity increased when she entered the hospital and headed towards the reception desk, she found the woman who was working there scared to death with all of the bikers waiting around in the area in front of her.

"Excuse me, I was hoping you could tell me if a friend of mine is here," Giana told the woman as she cleared her throat to get the woman's attention. The receptionist turned to look at her and after Giana had given her all of the information that she needed the woman shook her head and leaned back into her chair.

"I'm sorry mademoiselle, I can't let you see her," the woman told her as Giana started to argue with her before a hand settled over her shoulder. She turned to see a biker staring the receptionist down.

"I'm sorry, I must have heard wrong…did you say she couldn't see Monica?" the man asked, his deep voice sending a shiver down Giana's back as he pulled her closer to him. The receptionist smiled weakly as she shook her head.

"No monsieur, I was giving her the room number," the woman stuttered as she wrote it down and handed the piece of paper to Giana with a shaking hand. The biker who was holding Giana glared at the woman before directing Giana to the door leading further into the hospital with his arm still around her as he opened the door and let her through.

Giana merely walked through the door with her gaze directed at the floor as the biker stepped in after her.

"I must apologize for my actions but women like her make me want to carve her face with a knife," the biker told her as he walked next to her. Giana turned to look at him and almost wished she hadn't. He stared back at her with cold green eyes, his face straight. He reminded her of Judas for some reason, but she wasn't about to start comparing the two bikers at the moment.

The only thing that made him different was the patch on his jacket. He was a Wolf, not a Bastard. With Giana's limited exposure to gangs she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad.

They continued to walk in silence until they reached the room that the woman had written down for them. They walked in to find another biker already there leaning over Monica's bed with a grim expression.

"Boss, can we come it? She's a friend of hers," the biker next to her asked as he stopped at the doorway and bowed his head. The other man stood up and nodded as Giana went in and shook her head when she was the state in which her friend was in.

"Oh my god," she whispered as she walked over to Monica's side. The female biker remained sleeping as the young dancer stood beside her with her face straight. She could see the bandages that had been applied over her shoulder; something told her that that wasn't the only thing that had happened to her friend.

The two men stepped out into the hallway as Giana took a seat next to Monica's bedside.

Giana remained with the biker for a while hoping that she would wake or give a sign that she was alive. She sighed and stood up after spending half of the day with the woman as she headed for the door, the two bikers that had been waiting outside stepped in after she exited.

She looked back as she walked down the hallway and caught a sight of the same biker that had escorted her as he winked at her before stepping into the room.

Monica shifted when she felt the bed dip at the end as her eyes opened and shot over to see what it was. Her gaze narrowed dangerously when she saw the man that was sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Beelzebub," she snarled making an attempt to get up but failing as she fell back against the pillows. A sneer formed on her face as she continued to glare at the man who merely smirked back at her.

"Hyde," he growled back with the smirk still in place. Monica made another attempt to get up and strangle him before the pain returned full force and caused her to fall back once more with a barely noticeable whimper. "Sister…how unfortunate that we should meet like this," Beelzebub told her laughing as he leaned over to her.

"We are not related!" Monica barked bringing her hand up with the remaining strength that she had as she swiped it across his face.

Beelzebub reeled back with a hiss as his hand flew up to cover the right side of his face. Monica looked at him defiantly from her position on the bed as her chest rose up and down rapidly in anger. He wasn't surprised by her attack, in fact he had almost been expecting it. The last time their paths had crossed he had gotten a knife imbedded into his leg.

"And you, your brother is dying in the room next to mine…why are you here?" Monica asked in a dangerous voice as she looked at the biker that had helped Giana get into the hospital. The man looked down before he looked at Beelzebub for permission. The leader of the Wolves nodded to the younger man as he walked out of the room to go and see Judas.

"I can see that you haven't changed at all…sister," Beelzebub told her as he removed his hand and exposed the three gashes that ran across his cheek red with blood.

"Why are you here?" Monica snarled watching his every move as she managed to sit up despite her body protesting and crying out in pain.

"I heard the Jackals took the Bastards down," he told her running his hand over the scratches that she had just given him.

"You heard wrong, their numbers are lower than ours…and so are their leaders," she told him biting her tongue as the pain got stronger with every second that went by.

"Lucifer is dying…and you aren't far from where he is," Beelzebub told her as the smirk dropped from his face. "He took three bullets to the chest, two on his right arm…how can you possibly expect him to come out alive from that?" he added as he looked out of the window.

"Lucifer isn't dying…he can't die," Monica told him as Beelzebub dropped his head and walked over to her when a tear rolled down her cheek. The pain was unbearable and the fact that her men where all dead or dying finally started to sink in.

"Could we start again…? I'm tired of arguing, tired of fighting, you need me, and I've always needed you...this is what Felix would have wanted," he told her sitting down again next to her as she looked at him with bloodshot eyes. She had never accepted him as her brother, she had never approved of her father having another family without telling her. The fact that he was the leader of the Wolves had always fueled a rivalry between them to see who would control the Bastards, and in the end she had been left in charge by her father.

"Joker is dead, Lucifer is close to dying…" she told him as he nodded and pulled her close to him, he was shocked when he didn't receive a punch from her or another swipe at his face. "They're leaving me alone…I can't do this alone," she cried holding on to his arm as she comforted his half-sister. This was the first time they were in the same room and they weren't fighting or screaming death wishes at each other.

"Father was right, death does bring family together," Beelzebub told her as she cried even harder when memories of the night before resurfaced. She could still feel the blood running down her hands as she watched Joker die in her arms, she could still see Voodoo lying in front of them no longer breathing. Flashes of her men sprawled on the cold unforgiving pavement plagued her mind.

"I can't do this alone…I can't," she cried as her half-brother closed his eyes and continued to comfort her. He had heard of the shootout when one of his men walked in with the newspaper and rode out as soon as he could to see if his sister was still alive.

"Shh, you won't have to do it alone," he whispered to her, "we'll get the Jackals…I'll make sure we take them down," he told her as she nodded and tried to calm her nerves.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry that we've wasted so many years fighting with each other," she told him as his jaw clenched. He couldn't agree more, they had resented each other for so long that they had forgotten they were related.

"Father always told me how much you hated me…I can't blame you though," he told her, "I would have done the same if I were in your position," he added as the painkillers started to kick in. Her eyelids started to drop as her crying turned into sniffles.

He set her down carefully and fixed the covers as he stood over her and smirked, he finally had his sister on his side. After years of fighting they were finally seeing eye to eye.

The other biker walked in once more looking paler than the snow that lay on the ground outside which caused Beelzebub to stare at him with concern.

"How are they?" Beelzebub asked as the other biker shook his head grimly.

"Judas doesn't look too good and Gabriel is knocking on death's door…" he paused slightly as he looked at Monica and then at him, "Lucifer…I don't think he'll make it past the night, he's been through hell and back but I think the Devil has reached his limit."

Beelzebub nodded before he motioned for the biker to follow him. The exited the room and headed downstairs to plan out their next move, they failed to see the other biker that had been waiting patiently around the corner.

Jack watched as Monica's half-brother descended the stairs followed by Judas' brother with a look of hate on his face before he pushed himself off of the wall and headed towards her room.

He entered and stopped when he saw the beat up state in which she was. He walked over to the side of her bed and paused to look at her. It had been so long since he had last seen her, she hadn't changed however.

"Beautiful…" he whispered as he caressed her cheek. She shivered at the contact and moved away from him as he pulled his hand back slightly not wishing to wake her. His feelings hadn't changed for her, he still loved her and he still wanted her, but the fact that the Phantom rarely let her out of his sight irritated Jack. He was still going to go through with Lucy's plan and hope for the best, but at the moment all he cared about was the woman resting on the bed next to him.

He leaned over the bed and placed a kiss on her lips before drawing back and exiting the room quickly having already dragged out his welcome. He knew that they would be back to check on her, the last thing he wanted was to be caught anywhere near her.

He exited the hospital through a different entrance avoiding the Werewolves all together and mounted his bike as he looked at the building once more and bit his bottom lip in desperation. He revved the bike up and drove away before he blew his cover.

He looked to the sky when it started to snow; large flakes fell from the grey night sky and hit him as he drove towards Lucy's house once more. He shook them off of his jacket as he increased the speed of the bike and cleared his thoughts, all he cared about was the woman lying in a hospital bed miles away from where he was. He didn't care if she had a gang to protect her or the Opera Ghost to hide her, she would be his, come what may…she would belong to him.

**Well, you can see that Lucy is going to finally have some one on one time with the Phantom and Jack is back...hehehe that rhymed XD Review!**


	32. What Are You Planning?

**What Are You Planning...?**

**A/N: Well, I took longer in updating this due to the lack or reviews :D lmao I didnt think people were reading this so I decided to go ahead and update my other stories first, but this chappie is for the few that did review I love you all to death, you're the reason I keep updating! Enjoy!**

"_The tears I might have shed for your dark fate... grow cold and turn to tears of hate!" _Lucy sang as Fleur watched her intently. He shook his head, it was all wrong. He looked at the sheet of music in his hands before sighing and looking up at the diva on stage.

"You're singing it wrong, Lucy," Fleur reminded her as she sighed in an irritated manner and plopped down on the edge of the stage. They had been going over the same part for over an hour and she still couldn't get it right.

"Then how the hell am I supposed to sing it, Maestro?" she asked mockingly tossing her hair back with a motion of her hand.

"You're supposed to sound betrayed, hurt, hateful! But right now you sound more like Carlotta!" Fleur shouted back as several other singers laughed at the comment. Everyone agreed, Lucy was fit to sing Carlotta's part rather than Christine's.

The conductor kept playing the same notes over and over again but she couldn't get it right. The Phantom was growing restless up in Box 5, his blue eyes never left the blond on the stage.

He couldn't comprehend why she had kept the part, his had faith in his muse he knew she could pull the part off perfectly. It dumbfounded him to see another woman playing the part, especially the blond who couldn't even sing some of the high notes.

His mind got sidetracked as soon as his muse resurfaced in his thoughts, Fleur had comeback empty handed. The Phantom had no idea where she was but that alone didn't cause too much panic within him, she had done this before. At least that's what he kept telling himself, she would comeback after everything had calmed down.

He couldn't leave now to look for her; he had other pressing matters that Fleur constantly reminded him of. For now all he could do was sit back and listen to the blond's horrible vibrato and watch her exaggerated acting skills.

The torturous show went on for another hour until it ended abruptly by Fleur losing his voice once more and the conductor throwing the sheets of music aside in a burst of anger.

"This cannot continue until you learn your lines correctly, Miss Rothesay!" the conductor hissed before dismissing the orchestra. The rest of the ensemble followed after him, without music there was no way to rehearse properly.

Lucy found herself alone on the large stage; she looked around and sat down once more at the edge of the stage once more with a loud sigh.

"_Angel of music, guide and guardian, grant to me your glory…angel of music, hide no longer, secret and strange angel…" _Lucy sang changing the tone several times while trying to get it right. She dropped her head in her hands and tried to relax her tense muscles before singing again.

"You are singing it wrong," a voice echoed from her right as her head snapped up towards the source. There was nothing there but darkness. The voice sounded familiar and yet she couldn't quite place it.

"I think I've heard that enough today," Lucy replied standing up and looking around still seeing no one but herself on the stage. The voice had sounded so close, as if it had been right behind her.

"You are forcing your vibrato, if you do not cease doing that you will continue to sound like a goat," the voice commented once more except this time it came from the left. She snapped her head in the direction she had heard the comment come from only to find nothing but darkness once more.

"I suppose you would know a lot about music?" she asked sarcastically. Her interest fully peaked now that the man thought it amusing to compare her to a farm animal.

"I certainly know more than you, mademoiselle," the voice replied as the source stepped out of the shadows. Lucy turned to look at the source and nearly fainted in shock.

The Phantom of the opera stood before her in all of his dark glory, dressed in black from head to toe. Her blue eyes widened considerably when she noticed how tall he really was, she had forgotten that little detail.

"I remember you," she stuttered backing away slightly as the Phantom stood still, he retraced his memory for any trace of the woman in front of him. It then came to him; she had been the other character who had been present when he had first encountered his muse.

"Of course you do," he replied in a monotone voice, he wasn't amused by the conversation he was having and it would remain that way.

"I- I guess you heard my singing didn't you?" Lucy asked as a blush settled on her cheeks. The Phantom's face remained expressionless as he walked towards her. Lucy stood paralyzed as the Opera Ghost brushed past her and sat at Fleur's seat, he stared at her expectantly when she turned to look at him with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Sing something for me," he ordered in a harsh voice as she jumped at the tone. The Phantom had made a note to avoid using the same words he used with his muse; the blond in front of him didn't deserve to be spoken to in the same manner.

"Anything?" she asked excitedly as he shook his head dully.

"Something from the musical, Miss Rothesay," he replied in an aggravated tone making sure to drag out his words so she could process them better. Lucy stared at the man in front of her in awe, the way he said her last name sent chills up and down her spine.

She thought about a decent song to sing but nothing came to her that was until she remembered her favorite scene in the movie.

"_No more talk of darkness, forget these wide eyed fear-"_

"Anything but that," the Phantom snarled trying to mask the rage that resurfaced whenever he heard the soft tune. Lucy immediately stopped singing and looked at the Opera Ghost in concern. Despite the years that had past he still hadn't forgotten about Christine's betrayal.

She made a mental note to never bring that up whenever he was around; his mood seemed to drop drastically after the song.

She stared at him afraid of singing the wrong thing as he sighed and shook his head slightly. He stood form his seat and looked at her once more. The only reason he was doing this was for the sake of his muse and her reputation. He had practically bought the Opera House for her, whether if succeeded or failed was up to him for the moment. He would not have a goat singing on the stage on opening night.

With that in mind, he tried to picture her in his mind; it was difficult to sing to any other woman when he only thought of her.

"_Past the point of no return, no backward glances,_

_The games we played 'til now are at an end…_

_Past all thought of 'If' or 'When', no use resisting,_

_Abandon thought and let the dream descend!_

_What raging fire shall flood the soul?_

_What rich desire unlocks its door?_

_What sweet seduction lies before us?_

_Past the point of no return, the final threshold,_

_What warm unspoken secrets will we learn?_

_Beyond the point of no return…"_

He sang circling her doing his best to picture his muse instead of her, Lucy on the other hand was amazed that she was still breathing when he had finished. Her heart was beating so quickly that she felt like it would burst any moment. His voice alone was enough to make her head spin, now to have him singing that to her was a dream come true.

She couldn't wait to get back at Monica and tell her, she would make sure that the biker knew every detail about her little encounter with the Phantom.

The Phantom stopped in front of her and tilted his head at her; she got the drift and shook her head before she sang her part.

"_You have brought me to that moment where words run dry,_

_To that moment where speech disappears into silence, _

_Silence…_

_I have come here hardly knowing the reason why,_

_In my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining,_

_Defenseless and silent and now I am here with you,_

_No second thoughts, I've decided, _

_Decided…"_

She sang as the Phantom resumed his slow circling around her making sure her posture was correct by placing a gloved hand on her lower back and pushing forward slightly. She gasped upon feeling his hand and obeyed as he stepped back and continued to take note.

"_Past the point of no return, no going back now,_

_Our passion play has now at last begun!_

_Past all thought of right or wrong, one final question,_

_How long should we two wait before we're one?_

_When will the blood begin to race?_

_The sleeping bud burst into bloom?_

_When will the flames at last consume us?"_

She sang more confidently until she felt him stop walking and lean in from behind her. His hands hovered above her lower ribcage while he whispered into her ear.

"You are too tense," he told her as his gloved fingers brushed over her abdomen, "relax your muscles or you will end up damaging your voice," he added before removing his arms from around her waist and trailing up to her neck and jaw.

"Let the music flow through you, do not try to force it," he commented as she breathed unevenly. Having him so close was something that she had dreamt of but never thought would happen. She relaxed as he had told her, instantly the notes came out more effortlessly and her vibrato easily mingled with the words.

The Phantom pulled back upon hearing her and made a mental note to keep his distance from the blond; her perfume stung his nostrils and altered his own scent. He smelled like her, the mere thought earned a sneer from the Opera Ghost.

"_Past the point of no return, the final threshold,_

_The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn!_

_We've passed the point of no return…"_

She sang loving the way his voice sounded with her own. The Phantom on the other hand was holding back on his own singing abilities, he could easily overpower her weak voice, he preferred his muse's singing over the woman in front of him any day. He would not give her the pleasure of singing a proper duet with her.

He was about to walk away from her pleased with his work when he heard something rather unusual behind him.

She stood there looking like Christine once had, her eyes glued to him wishing to have him back by her side. She loved the Phantom, why couldn't he see that and leave Monica already?

"_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime_

_Lead me, save me from my solitude…"_

She sang walking over to him as he stood there looking at her in confusion. He started to leave once more before her hand wrapped around his forearm and held him in place. He stared down at her in slight aggravation as she continued to sing the accursed melody to him.

"_Say you'll want me with you here beside you,_

_Anywhere you go let me go too…"_

She continued to sing as she leaned in to kiss him. The Phantom caught on and pulled away from her before she could do anything else as he disappeared from her sight with a swish of his cloak leaving her in complete darkness. He had to control himself, had he stayed there with her he would have probably snapped her neck for being so insolent and inferior. That act, however, would have upset his muse greatly. He restrained himself to save her the trouble of worrying over others.

"_That's all I ask of you…"_

She finished as she stepped back and sighed in an irritated manner. So close, she had gotten so close to her goal. It hadn't all been in vain, she still had a needle to stab Monica's heart with. She would describe her encounter with the Opera Ghost in full detail; perhaps she would even add a few false events to irk the biker further. That alone should be enough to break the two apart.

Lucy smiled, one way or another, he would be hers.

**Review!**


	33. One More Time

**One More Time**

**A/N: Well, this story is drawing to a close! Not alot of chapters left my dears, and I love the reviews I have been getting, it makes me smile :D Enjoy!**

"The charter from Germany arrived earlier today, no one has been inside the bar," Beelzebub commented turning his head slightly to face Monica. She nodded weakly and held on as he drove through the empty streets.

The winter air had never felt like this to her before, it stung her cheeks and numbed her body. She kept her head rested against her brother's back wanting to escape from everything.

It had been over three months, three months wasted away in the hospital due to the doctors refusing to give her leave. She sneered at the thought; she had wasted too much time. She hadn't seen the Phantom in over four months.

She wondered how the musical was going, if the ballet dancers had finally stopped stumbling around the stage. She wondered if Lucy had finally learned her parts, she wondered if the conductor had lost his patience over the blond.

She shook those thoughts aside; she was going to need a clear head for what was to come.

The tires of the motorcycle crunched against the broken glass scattered over the pavement when they finally arrived at the bar. Monica closed her eyes not wanting to see it; she didn't want to relive the memories of that fateful night.

Her brother helped her off of the bike as she faced the place she had called home for so long. Her eyes pooled with unshed tears as she approached the entrance, the charter that had arrived from Germany stared at her wearily stepping aside for her to get through.

She greeted the men with a sorrowful smile before ascending the stairs leading inside.

No one followed after her; they had been through this routine too many times.

They knew what was coming.

Monica uttered a shaky sigh when she stepped inside and found it empty.

She choked back a sob when she looked at the bar, beer bottles had been tossed aside and shots had been left unfinished. Her eyes swept over to the tables around the large space finding them all empty, chairs were tossed aside while some still remained pushed back.

"_There's a grief that can't be spoken," _she sang quietly fighting back the tears that begged to fall from her eyes. Her hand caressed the surface of a table before it knocked over a shot of tequila. She stared grimly at the liquid as it dispersed on the ground. The liquor turned into blood as she remembered holding Joker's wound begging for a miracle to happen.

"_There's a pain goes on and on," _she choked bitterly looking at the patch that hung on the wall. A grinning skull with devil horns stared back at her; she frowned brushing her hand over it. She wondered if it was all worth it, she had lost so many men. Voodoo's dead body flashed before her eyes, she closed them shut tightly and tried to steady her breathing.

So _many _men.

"_Empty chairs at empty tables," _she continued walking slowly throughout the bar. She pushed a chair aside gently as she gripped the backrest harshly. Her nails dug into the wood causing pain to shoot up her arms. She didn't care now, she didn't care about anything. An image of Lucifer his hospital bed crossed her mind; she sneered and dismissed it as soon as it came.

"_Now my friends are dead and gone_," she cried softly stumbling over to the bar once more. She didn't know why her father had left her this charge; she wished he was with her now. He would have been able to put everything in order.

Her eyes landed on her ruined jacket that had been tossed over a chair, the shredded pieces of leather reminded her of the life she was living. Everything was being torn apart; the only thing keeping her together was Kiri and the Phantom.

She collapsed on a stool, she didn't know where she would be without the Phantom, she would have broken down a long time ago.

The images of her men lying on the ground scattered amongst the Jackals' own casualties crossed her mind again, "_Oh my friends, my friends forgive me_," she sang once more grabbing her jacket and pulling it close to her chest, "_that I live and you are gone…" _she added bitterly hurling the ruined leather across the bar. It landed on top of some bottles which sent them crashing to the ground.

"_Phantom faces at the window," _she cried running her hand over a table sending a bottle of vodka flying across the room. It shattered against the large banner on the wall, she glanced at it with bloodshot eyes, they had all died protecting her and Kiri. She could still see Voodoo's smiling face as he jumped on Joker's back when the other biker least expected it days before they were killed. She could still see her other men stumbling around drunk to the point of collapsing with smirks on their expressions.

"_Phantom shadows on the floor," _she sang, her voice cracking when Joker's booming laughter filled her ears. She could still hear her men singing off key whenever they could find a chance to celebrate and drink themselves until unconsciousness. She grabbed another bottle of tequila off of the bar and hurled it again at the grinning devil on the wall.

"_Empty chairs at empty tables…" _she choked grabbing more and more bottles and hurling them at the banner she had looked at with pride. Bottle after bottle of liquor shattered against the wall, that wasn't enough.

"They're dead, they are all _dead!" _she screamed grabbing a chair and throwing it against one of the windows. It shattered and went straight through as several men from the Germany charter stepped back noticing she had already started to throw things.

She grabbed another and threw it against another window as the cracking glass reminded her of the bullets breaking the windows of their cars and motorcycles.

She cried and headed towards the large mirror they kept in the back as she stared at her form. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes bloodshot, and her lip bled due to her biting down on it too hard. Her skin had long ago lost its color and her weight had dropped drastically, she looked ghost like.

"You are horrible," she whispered to herself glaring into her own eyes, she was a murderer; the blood of her men was on her hands. The blood of the Jackals was on her hands, she was a despicable excuse of a human being.

She pulled her hand back and brought it back down against the mirror. The shards fell around her; she closed her eyes and leaned into the remaining pieces that were still attached to the mirror. Her bleeding hand didn't trouble her; her mind was her enemy now.

She didn't deserve to live; she didn't deserve the life she had.

She didn't deserve the Phantom.

She sobbed upon realizing that everything her mind had thrown at her was true, she didn't deserve any of it. The Phantom was better off with someone else, Lucy perhaps, he didn't deserve to be stuck with a murderer.

She sunk to the ground and sat amongst the shards of the mirror regret apparent in her eyes.

"Father…what have I become?" she asked quietly looking towards the picture of her father on the wall. She closed her eyes; she was the only one responsible for all of the death around her. She collected her thoughts; she had to pull herself together, perhaps not for herself but for Kiri, the club, and the Phantom.

The Phantom.

She had to see him one last time, just once before she went looking for the Jackals. She knew she wouldn't come out of another confrontation alive, the doctors had been clear on that.

She picked up the shattered pieces of her mind and pulled them all together one last time. This was her last stand, she would make it count.

She wiped the tears away from her eyes; she had cried herself dry by now, before walking to the back of the bar and pulling out another leather jacket. She slipped it on proudly and paused slightly realizing what had to be done.

She collected her thoughts and walked outside calmly, she had taken out her pain and sorrow upon the bar now it was the Jackals turn.

"I want all of you to remain in the city, we'll make those bastards beg for their lives tomorrow," she told her men as they all glanced up from their motorcycles. Her brother looked to her in concern but dismissed it as soon as it came upon realizing the jacket she was wearing.

"Rest for the night, tomorrow might be your last day," she told them descending the wooden stairs in a collected manner. Her boots crushed the glass beneath them as she walked towards her motorcycle.

"The last time Mercedes wore that she was shot, so was Felix," Beelzebub pointed out noticing the bullet wound near his sister's heart on the leather jacket. She glanced down at it blankly before looking up at him.

"I am aware," she replied in understanding. Beelzebub stared at her in concern once more. It was a death wish to wear a dead biker's jacket.

"Enjoy this night, Bastards!" she shouted before revving up her bike. Several men nodded grimly while others welcomed their death with open arms. Beelzebub shook his head and headed towards his own bike, he intended on spending his last night protecting Kiri.

She had been sent to Germany in order to shield her from the Jackals, Beelzebub merely hoped that by tomorrow night the child would still have someone to call mother. He knew Monica wasn't eager to die, the events that had happened however called for revenge.

Blood would have blood there was no denying that.

He stared after his sister as she drove away, one hand over her heart while the other gripped the handle to her bike.

She stared up at the night sky without fear; there was nothing to lose now. Kiri was safe, that was her primary concern.

She drove over to the opera house, perhaps for the last time; she intended to stay there until the musical was over tomorrow night and then leave.

One last night with the Phantom would calm her nerves.

Just one more.

**Review!**


	34. Come What May

**Come What May**

**A/N: I thought I would make this chapter less depressing that the last before I drop the last few chapters on you guys! I would have uploaded this days ago but your poor author was internetless...is that even a word? -_-' Anyways, enjoy oh and a sidenote to two of you guys: **

**georgiagirl5: She'll get her kiss dont worry ;D A lot of people have been waiting for it, it wont dissapoint I promise! **

**Andimpink: o.O thats all I can say before I give the ending away **

Monica walked calmly through the dark tunnels beneath the opera house, her mind at ease as she ran her hand along the cold stone wall. She could feel the damp stones beneath her fingers; the smell of wet dirt comforted her while the rushing water soothed her nerves.

She couldn't believe she had never noticed the tranquility down there. Perhaps it was because she was usually in a rush or distraught whenever she passed through. That wasn't the case this time, she was at peace with herself, she enjoyed every moment of it and made a mental note to remember every single detail.

She frowned slightly when she realized it was probably the last time she would ever walk through the catacombs, she paused and sighed before she leaned her body up against the harsh wall. She pushed herself off after a moment and continued to walk towards her destination.

Her footsteps were uncharacteristically loud as she finally reached the lair and walked through the large space with sorrow apparent in her eyes. She realized that the Phantom was probably in his room or up in the opera house after glancing at the organ and finding it without its musician.

She ran her hands over the keys and closed her eyes, she kept the memory of the Phantom playing late at night in her mind making sure to never forget it. She bit her lip as her fingers hovered above a rose petal she found on a sheet of music. She took it into her hand and looked at it intently; the same petals would probably be placed over her coffin when she died.

After that realization she dropped the petal quickly and stepped away from it in slight fear. She backed up into a table that held multiple candles and books which eased her slightly.

She lowered her body to look at the Persian monkey that rested on a music box on the table. She traced the detailed face with her hand and stored it in her mind as well before she walked over to the Phantom's room with a frown.

She gripped the ruby doorknob and turned it quietly before stepping in hesitantly unsure of whether he was in there or upstairs. After a few moments she realized that the Phantom was sleeping on his bed, she rose her brow at the sight.

She didn't know ghosts slept.

She took a moment as her eyes scanned his resting form; he lay on the bed facedown while one of his arms hung over the side of the bed. She could see his calm expression as his head rested on a black silk pillow, the masked side hidden from her view due to it being the side that was upon the pillow.

The sight of his exposed back, however, was the thing that caused her to gasp. Scars of every shape and size were scattered across is skin, she rose her hand to cover her mouth to prevent another gasp to escape from her mouth.

She couldn't stop her own body from moving forward as she walked up next to him and looked at the mass of scars that had faded over time. Her eyes started to pool with tears upon seeing what the world had done to him.

Her shaking hand reached down to trace on of the particularly nasty looking scars before it was seized with a crushing force and she was pinned down onto the bed. Her scared eyes met with the Phantom's raging orbs as he refused to lessen the grip on her wrist. She had startled him out of his sleep and now found herself pinned beneath his heavy body.

"Erik, it's me," she whispered to him in the dark forcing back the tears of pain that threatened to fall from her eyes, "it's just me, love," she whimpered as she rose a hand to caress the side of his face.

The Phantom lessened the pressure upon hearing the voice, he instantly let go and backed away from the body beneath him and searched blindly for his mask. His hand gripped the white porcelain prop before one of Monica's wrapped around his wrist.

"Leave it," she told him knowing she had caught him off guard, his reaction to her waking him up confirmed that.

The Phantom remained frozen upon hearing the command; she had never ordered him to do anything until now. He couldn't relax knowing that his deformed side was exposed and she could see it, he knew it didn't disturb her by now but he couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness that settled over him whenever he had the mask off.

"I want you, not the Phantom," she told him as her hand trailed up his arm and settled on the side of his horrendous face. He pulled away out of pure instinct when he felt her feather like touches on his scarred face, he knew she meant no harm but years of torture and beatings were hard to forget.

"Are you drunk? Did you hit your head somewhere?" he asked in a low voice as she sat back on his bed and pulled her hands back. He frowned missing the contact but resisted the urge to pull her back to him in order to hear her answer.

"Why is it that every time I try to get close you find it out of character for me?" she asked hurt hugging one of his pillows as he sighed and sat down in front of her before realizing that the top half of his body was exposed to her. He instantly reached for his shirt resting on the bedframe behind her before she took his arm once more and shook her head.

"I already saw," she told him with a frown, "why is it that you keep hiding things like this from me?" she asked as he remained silent. Something was off; his muse wasn't acting like herself. He glanced back at over his shoulder to look at the scars that adorned his back before looking at her once more.

"They are part of a past I would rather forget," he growled back as she frowned. She scooted closer to him when her mind reminded her that this was probably the last time she was going to see him, she didn't want to keep anything from him or have him keep secrets from her.

"I don't want this," she admitted before standing and shedding her jacket. The Phantom stared at her in confusion before she pulled her sleeve down over her shoulder to reveal a nasty looking bullet wound on her shoulder. "I'm tired of hiding from you, I have two others, one on my collarbone and another on my shoulder blade," she confessed before sitting back down.

The Phantom's eyes scanned the wound that was barely starting to heal before anger rose up upon seeing her in that state.

"Who-" he started before she cut him off.

"That's not the point, I don't want to hide anything from you anymore…and I don't want you to either," she told him with pleading eyes. He instantly closed his mouth, that was the first time anyone had ever managed to silence him.

That deserved an award of its own.

Now he was sure that she had hit her head, she never acted like this so why start now?

Nevertheless he pulled back and decided to indulge her before he took her hand and led it down his neck before stopping over his heart. She tensed when he let her hand go, she could feel something beneath her fingers. She pulled her hand back to reveal a single scar on his chest right where his heart should be.

"How did you-" she started before he waved his hand and stopped her.

It was his turn to interrupt her now.

"Christine," he replied as she shook her head slightly before he continued, "the Vitcome could not live with the fact that she still longed for her 'angel'," he told her as Monica listened intently afraid of breathing and interrupting him. "He hired men to track down and kill the infamous 'Opera Ghost', I killed all of them…" he told her as she took one of his hands into her own.

It was the first time he had ever told her anything about his past; her mind couldn't help but remind her that it would be the last.

"The wound that they left behind reminded me of her ingratitude, her lack of compassion, but most of all her betrayal," he finalized taking back his hand swiftly and reaching once more for his shirt. Monica didn't stop him; she merely sat there and took all of the information in.

She never imagined Christine would have been capable of doing all of that to the man she owed her very life to.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," she mumbled as he slipped the white fabric over his shoulders and let fall down his back. She avoided his eyes and instead kept her own locked on her hands which rested in her lap.

"You wanted the truth, _mon amour, _now you have it," he shot back sounding more irritated than he had meant to. She retreated away from him and he regretted his backlash instantly, she had meant no harm, how could she have known that it would cause him to react like that?

He decided to chance the subject before she found out more about him than he wanted her to know.

"Have you forgotten what day it is?" he asked as she looked up at him after his little outburst. He couldn't help but notice her hopeful expression upon being spoken to again, he reminded himself to keep his temper under control when it involved her.

"It's Friday," she replied blankly as he resisted the urge to smirk, she had forgotten after all.

"I am afraid that Christmas has slipped your mind," he told her as her jaw dropped open at the sudden realization. He shook his head in disbelief, out of all the holidays she had forgotten the most important one.

"I didn't even remember!" she exclaimed dropping her head into her hands as he stood and grabbed is mask before offering a hand to her. She took it after a moment of debate and allowed herself to be led towards the library where a sea of wrapped presents awaited her.

A deep shade of red settled on her cheeks upon realizing that she hadn't gotten anything for him, with everything that had been going on the last thing on her mind was Christmas. She turned to look at the Phantom who had taken a seat on the couch in front of the fire while he watched her embarrassed form standing in front of him.

"These are all yours, I had Fleur deliver the child's own presents," he told her as she uttered a groan of genuine despair, not only had he spent money on her but he had taken the liberty of spending on Kiri as well. She resisted the urge to face palm at her predicament.

"You didn't have to do this," she told him as he shook his head and dismissed her protests.

"They will not open themselves," he told her as she stood frozen before him and the mass of presents. After another look from the Phantom she sunk to the ground and grabbed the closest one before she began to unwrap it.

She couldn't remember the last time she had even celebrated Christmas, everything in her life had been in such turmoil that she had neglected the need to enjoy the holiday.

Her shaking hands held a black velvet box as her eyes drifted up to the Phantom who merely nodded at her in reassurance. She nearly fainted when she opened it and saw what was inside.

A necklace made up of pure diamonds gleamed back at her, even in the dim lighting the precious rock managed to shine exaggeratedly.

"Oh my god, I can't take this!" she shrieked looking up at the Opera Ghost, a blank expression was placed on his face as if he had been expecting that reaction all along.

"I will not have my muse looked down upon by the aristocrats in this city, therefore you shall accept it," he told her in his matter of fact voice that irked the hell out of her. Her brow twitched for a brief moment before she thought of the cost of the piece of jewelry in her hand.

"How much was this?" she asked glancing at the necklace, she had a feeling that it could feed a family for the rest of their lives.

"That is not your concern," he replied as she closed the velvet box and stared at him with slight sadness in her eyes.

"I don't even deserve it," she mumbled before he rose from the couch and crouched in front of her. Her doubtful eyes met his reassuring ones before he took one of her hands and held it up to his lips.

"You are an amazing woman, a marvelous dancer and singer, my muse," he paused slightly before adding the next part, "and a reckless motorcycle driver, you deserve this and more," he told her before kissing her hand and letting it go. He rose once more and urged her to open the next present.

What he had failed to tell her was that she was his sole reason for composing, for breathing, for living. She was everything to him; there was nothing too good or too expensive for her in his eyes.

The Phantom sat down once more when she pulled another box towards her hesitantly; he couldn't understand how she had come into his life.

Christine had been obvious, she had wanted to become a diva, he had given her everything he possibly could to help her and she had turned her back on him when she no longer needed him. Monica on the other hand refused to take anything that he offered to her.

He remembered the first time he had given Christine a diamond necklace, it had been much smaller than Monica's, the soprano had instantly accepted it and had expected for more ever since.

The two women were so different it made him wonder why he had fallen so hard for Christine in the first place.

A gasp brought him back into reality as she held a white pelt in her arms; he smirked slightly when he realized what it was.

"Oh god, Erik! I seriously can't accept any of this!" she told him holding the polar bear fur in her arms. She couldn't imagine the amount of money that she held in her grasp, the mere fact that he had wasted so much on her made her feel guilty and even more undeserving.

He dismissed several more protests that came from her and urged her to open the next gift.

She set the fur aside carefully as if it were made of glass and pulled over another box with more hesitation than before.

Her hands lifted the lid off of the box to reveal a blood red gown that had gold in the design and hem. She stood and twirled it around with her mouth open in shock and awe at the mere sight of the piece of clothing.

The Phantom settled back into the couch and watched as she stared at the dress in wonder. A garment of that size and design would have made any woman mad with jealousy; come to think of it he had never given Christine a gown like that.

"It's beautiful," she whispered as he nodded back, she set it back into the box with the exact same care she had used with the previous gifts and stared at the mass of boxes before her. She had barely opened three and she was already guessing how much money he had spent on her, she was sure the amount would be enough to buy the city of Paris.

The remainder of the gifts were as luxurious and expensive as the previous ones, by the time she was finished she could hardly count the items before her. The last box however intrigued her as she pulled it close and unwrapped it slowly.

She opened the black wooden box and smiled at the sight before her, a black mask stared back at her. It was similar to the one the Phantom had worn to Don Juan except her s was decorated with gold and rubies and it had a more feminine shape to it than his.

She stared up at him with amusement in her eyes, "I could pass of as the feared Opera Ghost with this," she told him picking up the mask and examining it closely. Everything about it screamed out 'Phantom of the Opera' to her, the fact that it belonged to her made her love the man in front of her even more.

"Hardly, you could not pass as me even if you tried," he shot back teasingly as she rose her brow at him in a questioning manner.

"Is that a challenge, _monsieur_?" she asked setting down the mask back into the box and walking over to him on the couch.

"_Oui,_ it is," he replied as she sat next to him and shivered when a sudden chill settled over her.

She took out her phone and sent a message to her brother; she couldn't possibly expect her men to walk into their deaths tomorrow when their families needed them the most. She postponed retaliation for now, she couldn't bear to have them say goodbye to their families right after Christmas, it has inhuman and heartless.

The least she could do was hold it back for another day or two; she wouldn't wait any longer after that.

She tossed her phone aside when she was done and glanced up at the Phantom who had been staring at the fireplace the whole time. She pulled back suddenly when an idea came to her and reached behind her neck catching his attention as he turned to look at her curiously.

"I know it's not much," she told him as she unhooked the gold chain she wore around her and reached over him. She wrapped her arms around him and placed it on him with a satisfied smirk. "It pales in comparison to what you've given me," she told him blushing as she stared at his surprised expression, "it belonged to my father, it's just a piece of gold I know, but it means the world to me."

He stared down at the chain around his neck and then at the woman next to him, no one had ever given him anything like that. He treasured the piece of jewelry already knowing it belonged to her, knowing that it meant something to her.

She shivered again before he grabbed a wolf pelt out of the pile of gift that he had given to her and tossed it over her form. She curled up next to him again as he wrapped an arm around her small frame welcoming the warmth that she brought along with her.

"Thank you, Erik," she whispered yawning before settling her head against his chest, "for everything," she finalized before he glanced down at her sleeping form.

Having her body this close to his was torture in itself, every fiber of his being longed for her touch. His skin was on fire every time she made contact with him, a single touch was enough to drive him mad. He had stopped himself several times already from pulling her to him and capturing her lips with his own. To take her breath away and kiss her until the world stopped.

He had seen her disappointment every time he pulled away or rejected her. He would never hurt her like that, he didn't think himself capable of it, but he couldn't allow himself to lose himself with her just yet. There was always something that bothered him, something that impeded him from claiming her as his.

He couldn't shake the feeling that she would be torn away from him; the mere thought of it tormented him. He adored her too much to lose her; he couldn't possibly cope with her absence for long.

He wrapped his arm around her protectively and pulled her closer as she placed one of her own arms over his chest.

She was his, nothing could change that and no one could take her from him.

She had replaced Christine, it had taken some time but she had managed to tear down the barriers he had put around himself to block anyone from the outside. She had looked past his deformed face and had managed to love the man behind the mask.

The mere sight of her caused his inspiration to soar, he had never longed for another woman as much as he did with her. There was no room for anyone else.

The blond woman from the other day merely irritated him and stressed him. Lucy was just Christine's doppelganger with blond hair, an image that he hated with a burning passion. Monica already held his heart in her hand; nothing would be able to alter that.

She was his world.

Come what may, he would love her until his dying day.

**Review! Let me know what you thought! Any ideas for what might happen at the end? I'd like to see what you guys have in mind ;D till next time. **


	35. Hush Little Baby

**Hush Little Baby...**

**A/N: One more chapter left after this one my dears, I love all of the reviews that I've been getting so I decided to update this sooner :D Enjoy...or rather, try not to butcher you dear author ;D  
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Monica woke when she felt her phone vibrating against her, she groaned and pulled back before she noticed she had fallen asleep on the Phantom. A blush came to her cheeks as she managed to untangle her hair from one of the buttons on his vest without waking him.

She turned away and picked up her phone before looking at the message that she had received, her face paled instantly and she shot off of the couch in panic. She scampered around for a blank sheet of paper, wrote down a note for the Phantom and practically rushed out of the lair.

She pulled on her gloves hastily as she ran through the catacombs and slipped her jacket on in a rush as she reached the Opera Populair, she ran past Fleur who threw her a questioning glance. She didn't even bother in stopping or looking back as she threw open the main doors and stepped outside into the cold night air.

She jumped on her bike and revved it up quickly before she drove away at an alarming speed. She pulled her phone out and held it to her ear as she waited for Logan to pick up.

"You called, boss?" his voice answered sleepily as she cursed and dropped the phone into her lap when she drove through a red light and narrowly missed a collision with a semi. She picked the communication device once more and held it in place with her shoulder.

"Get Beelzebub to send someone over to Germany, Kiri isn't safe, I don't want anyone coming near her without my approval," Monica snarled before she hung up and continued to drive recklessly towards her destination.

When she reached the Notre Dame cathedral she practically jumped off of her motorcycle and rushed in looking desperately for one man in particular. She screamed when she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and pull her into the shadows of the church. Her mouth however was covered by a gloved hand which muffled her cry as she was slammed up against the stone wall of the immense cathedral away from the view of any passerby.

"Jack?" she asked horrified as the biker turned to look at her in alarm before he looked around to see if anyone had heard them. Satisfied with the fact that his cover hadn't been blown he turned to look at the woman in his hold.

"The one and only, beautiful," he replied with a sheepish grin. All Monica could do, however, was frown back. She knew something was wrong the moment he had sent her that message, why would he blow his cover now? Why risk her rating him out with the Bastards and the Jackals?

"What have you done?" she asked holding back tears of pain before rubbing the back of her head trying to soothe it from the collision it had just suffered seconds ago. Jack saw this and dropped his smile before running his hand over her head and down the back of her neck.

She turned away from him making him frown once more; she hadn't forgotten what he had done to her. He didn't let go of her as she looked around to see if anyone had noticed them, if any of her men were to find them there they would shoot Jack on the spot, it didn't matter that they were in a cathedral.

"Nothing that you can't fix," he replied as she turned to look at him once more, she didn't like where this was going.

"Jack, please tell me this has nothing to do with anyone else but me," she told him as he looked away briefly. She turned his head with one of her own hands and forced him to look at her, "Jack…what have you done?" she asked him once more rubbing his cheek with her thumb as he looked down and then at her with uncertain eyes.

"You would never forgive me if I told you," he replied stepping closer to her. She shifted noticing their bodies were practically pressed up against one another.

"Jack, tell me," she demanded trying to put some distance between them.

"I was the one who told the Jackals when to strike, I knew there wouldn't be a lot of men at the bar to defend it…" he confessed as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth in shock. He saw this and shook his head before frowning. "I never though any of you would go down," he added as she felt tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You killed Joker and Voodoo," she choked slapping him as welcomed the hit. He knew he deserved it and more but that wasn't his reason for calling her to him.

"I didn't want this," he confessed as she looked up at him again, what was he talking about?

"There's still time to fix this, Monica," he told her pleadingly as he took one of her hands and held it in his. She stared at him wondering what he was trying to say.

"What do you mean?" she asked shifting once more uncomfortable with having him so close. Jack on the other hand merely pulled her towards him.

"Leave with me, leave _him _behind," he whispered in her ear as she pulled back with a confused gaze.

"Jack you know I-" she started before he silenced her by placing a finger over her lips.

"I can control myself, I can't say the same for…" he trailed off and stopped himself before he gave Lucy away, "the point is, I'm trying to avoid you any more pain, sorrow, misery," he told her brushing his thumb over her bottom lip.

She closed her eyes and processed what he had just said; it was more than just that, there was something he wasn't telling her.

"What does Kiri have to do with all of this, she's just a child, Jack," she asked reminding him of the message he had sent her.

"I would never do anything to harm her, you know that, " he replied with a stern look, "but I cannot protect her either," he added as Monica's look shot to his in a heartbeat.

"Jack, if anything happens to her-" she warned him with a growl before he silenced her once more by dipping his head down and crashing his lips up against her own. He stepped closer as she stepped back until he pressed her up against the stone wall.

She pulled away and held him back with her hands up against his chest as he breathed heavily; it had been ages since he had felt her lips against his, that moment had felt like heaven to him.

Monica stared at him trying to figure out what he was doing as her chest rose up and down rapidly in rage upon having him catch her off guard like that.

"Jack, what do you want? I can't stay here any longer," she told him as he wrapped his hand around her neck and pressed her up against the wall once more. She squirmed against him but he pinned her down with his other hand.

"Lucifer can't do anything, Joker is dead, and you're here with me," he told her as she stared at him with fury apparent in her expression, her hand gripped his jacket warningly as she dared him to mention their names again in her presence.

"Beelzebub left Germany unprotected, Kiri has nowhere to hide and no one to run to," he told her as he leaned in and breathed in her scent while his breath hit her neck making her shudder in fear, "leave with me, I will make sure nothing happens to her," he told her as she looked at him and pulled him back by grabbing a fistful of his hair.

He growled in the back of his throat as pleasure shot through him, Monica on the other hand sneered at him, "Are you trying to use Kiri to get to me?" she asked tilting her head as he stared back at her with lust filled eyes.

"Never…but I'm sure others wouldn't hesitate," he warned her thinking of Lucy who was in Germany already with Kiri, no doubt ready to kill the child if Monica chose the Phantom. "Please, for all our sakes, abandon your Opera Ghost," he pleaded with her as she stared back defiantly.

"You know I can't," she whispered to him as he shook his head in dismay, she had no idea that Kiri's life was in her hands. He couldn't give up that easily, not after everything that he had been through with her.

"Please, baby…" he begged as he held her to him, his eyes never leaving her own pair. She stared back with mixed feelings for the man in front of her; she couldn't understand why she couldn't hate him. She loved the Phantom, she knew that, she couldn't understand why she hadn't called Beelzebub to take care of the man in front of her, she couldn't bring herself to betray him like that.

Despite everything he had done to her, she couldn't hate him.

She couldn't….

"Jack…I can't," she whispered to him as he resisted the urge to scream in frustration. The love she had for the Phantom outweighed the love she had for him, he knew that. He couldn't bring himself to let her go, she was everything to him.

"I'm sorry, my love," he whispered back before kissing her again, she had sealed not only her fate but Kiri's as well. This wasn't right; she bit down on his bottom lip as he hissed in pleasure once more before she turned away from him and ran the back of her hand over her lips in disgust.

She stared back at the blood on her hand, she had made him bleed.

"I can't," she cried before she walked away from him, as much as it pained her she knew she could never forget his betrayal, she could never love him like she loved the Opera Ghost.

Jack stood shocked as he watched her leave; he grimaced when he tasted his own blood. He pulled out his phone and dialed Lucy's number.

"She denied the offer, I wouldn't put it past her to drive to Germany," he told the other woman before hanging up.

"I can't be responsible for what happens to you now," he whispered as he watched her slip through the large wooden doors of the cathedral before snarling and slamming his fist up against a column. He had not only lost her but Kiri as well, there was no knowing what Lucy would do.

He turned away from the entrance and looked at the altar before he sat on one of the many pews and dropped his head. There was no excuse for his actions, repenting was useless, helping Lucy kidnap Kiri in order to deliver her to the Jackals was unforgivable.

He sighed and closed his eyes, before the night was through there would be more deaths than ever before, all because of him.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Monica drove through Paris at a breakneck speed, she had already warned Beatrice to lock all the doors and hide until she arrived. She didn't dare stop until she reached her home in Germany; she had called the other charters nearby and ordered them to head over to her house.

She checked her revolver that remained on her waist before she increased the speed of her bike, the motorcycle roared as she sped down the streets. She couldn't afford to lose Kiri; she would lose herself if that happened.

The blame would be on her and her alone.

She knew that tonight was the opening for the Opera Populair and as much as she wished she could attend she knew nothing was worth more to her than having her child by her side alive and unharmed.

As night fell, however, and she arrived at the large mansion she knew something was horribly wrong. The front door had been kicked down, the dark wooden door swung back and forth in the harsh winter air.

Monica dismounted her bike and rushed towards the entrance, she gasped when she saw the scene before her. Blood had been smeared on the walls, the windows had all been broken, the furniture tossed aside, and the power had been cut.

She followed the trail of blood with the help of her lighter all the way to her living room where she froze at the sigh that her eyes landed on.

"Oh god, Beatrice!" she choked as she ran to the woman's side. The blond lay on the ground, her throat slit, surrounded by a pool of her own blood. Monica crouched before her and closed Beatrice's eyes which had still been open in shock before she held back more tears.

This was all her fault, what had she done?

She stood swiftly and rushed out of the room in a panic once she noticed that Kiri was nowhere to be found.

"Kirimi! Kirimi, where are you?" she cried desperately rushing from room to room, her hands shaking in horror every time she found them empty.

She rushed up the stairs tripping over the last one as she recovered quickly and rushed down the hall when she heard a soft cry. She paused as she reached the room that had once belonged to her father; a note had been placed on it.

'Now you'll know what it feels like to lose family and be betrayed, Hyde.

-Stryker."

She stared at the piece of paper and at the letters that had been written in blood, no doubt Beatrice's as she turned the doorknob and noticed it was closed. She cried in frustration before she backed up and started to kick it down.

By the time she had managed to make a hole in it she reached through with her hand and unlocked it splintering herself in the process as she burst through and froze in horror upon entering.

Kiri was on the ground, her once beautiful face covered in blood as her tiny hands held her stomach trying to stop the bleeding as Monica stared at her and tried not to faint as she neared the small child.

"F-fraulein…it hurts," Kiri cried weakly reaching for her mother with a crimson hand as Monica fell to her knees and pulled her child close to her. She held Kiri to her chest as the small child held on to her mother in fear, she didn't understand what was happening to her body it terrified her.

"It's ok, baby," Monica sobbed rocking the child in her arms, "its ok, mommy's here," she cried holding her as Kiri held on to her jacket.

"It hurts, _mammi, _make it stop," Kiri choked as she reached up weakly to touch her mother's face. Her fingers smeared blood on Monica's cheek.

"It's gonna be ok, you won't feel any pain," Monica whispered to her glancing at the wound on Kiri's stomach. Even if she called the ambulance there was no way Kiri would live, she had already lost too much blood. To make matters worse she started to cough up the red liquid as Monica held her closer and closed her eyes in despair.

"I'm sorry, _m-mammi, _don't cry for me," Kiri whispered as her eyes started to close. Monica could tell she was having a hard time with staying awake, the child had probably just held on long enough to see her.

"Aunt Lucy promised me you'd come," Kiri told her weaker than before as Monica's eyes shot open upon hearing Lucy's name. Stryker's note ran through her mind…could Lucy be capable of betraying her to this extent?

Monica was about to ask Kiri about it when she noticed her child was on the brink on dying, the words died down in her throat, she couldn't bring herself to ask her that now.

"Shh," Monica whispered kissing Kiri's forehead as Kiri closed her eyes and struggled to breathe as she coughed up more blood. Monica held back her tears and smiled down at Kiri when she opened her eyes once more.

Monica couldn't understand why it had come to this, why they had picked Kiri instead of her. She could hear her child's laughter in her head when she had seen her last; she could still see her smiling with her teddy bear in hand.

That was how she had wanted to remember Kiri, not like this. Bleeding and broken on the floor, unable to do anything to soothe her pain as she started to slip away Monica did the only thing she possibly could, she began to sing to her dying child. Her fury getting the better of her as she snarled and twisted the once peaceful lullaby.

"_Hush little baby don't say a word…_

_Momma's gonna kill for you the whole damn world._

_And if they don't laugh at our jokes…_

_Momma's gonna stab out their goddamn throats._

_And if they start to run away…_

_Momma's gonna paint the streets with blood._

_And once the blood starts to wash off…_

_Momma's gonna blow some more heads off._

_And if the world still doesn't laugh…_

_Momma's gonna go and poison them._

_And if the world still tries to fight…_

_Momma's gonna burn their houses down."_

Monica sang shaking with rage as her voice cracked when she felt Kiri's body go limp in her arms. She looked down and stared at her child noticing she was no longer breathing, the blood however continued to flow and stain her clothes and floors.

She paused as her bloodshot eyes stared at her child.

Kirimi was dead.

That was all it took for Monica to lose it, everything collapsed around her, nothing mattered anymore. She let out an agonized scream as she refused to let her go, this couldn't be happening to her, she held Kiri close to her as she continued to scream, she didn't stop until her throat bled.

She couldn't register pain anymore, she couldn't feel anything. She had finally killed Kiri; she knew her lifestyle would one day be the cause of it. She had killed her child…she was a monster.

She cried until she could no longer shed anymore tears and even then she continued to sob uncontrollably as she held Kiri's body to her chest wishing for her to wake, to make everything right.

It should have been her instead of Kiri; the thought crossed her mind endlessly. They should have killed her, not her innocent child.

Monica didn't even register when Beelzebub entered the house with the rest of his men. She did, however, feel when they began to pull her away from Kiri.

"No!" she cried out hoarsely elbowing her brother as he fought back his own tears and pulled her to him while his second in command, Greed, took Kiri from her.

"Let me go!" she cried desperately reaching for Kiri as she was picked up by Greed and carried away from her sight. She struggled against her brother's hold and clawed at the door as she watched them carry her small body away, she couldn't stand to let her go.

"God, Monica," Beelzebub choked fighting his own emotions as she went limp in his grasp, "your covered in blood," her brother commented as she stared blankly ahead, her face expressionless. He couldn't stop the tears that finally fell from his eyes, they had killed his brother's only child, he would make them suffer for that.

"What are we going to do?" he murmured as the salty taste of his tears reached his lips, he frowned and let her go knowing that she wouldn't follow after his men who were busy taking care of Beatrice and the bodies of the maids in the house.

Monica collapsed on her knees as her brother rushed over to her side and held her with concern, he knew that losing Kiri was hard for her; she would probably never be the same after her death.

"I'll kill all of them and Lucy…" she whispered swaying in her spot as her eyes focused and unfocused, she blinked trying to shake the effect off. Her very soul cried for retaliation, they had crossed the line when they went for her family. She wanted their blood; she would make sure they suffered just like Kiri had suffered. "I'll fucking kill them."


	36. Forever Yours

**Forever Yours**

"_Remember, love never dies…"_

-Christine, Love Never Dies

Monica sat before her men, head low as her black hair covered her face and prevented any of them from seeing her expression. Her hands were clenched around the large Victorian chair at the front of the meeting table. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, she made no move to say or do anything else.

"The Jackals are calling in their charter from Russia, what do you want us to do, boss?" Greed asked pulling his jacket around himself in order to hide the bloodstains that Kiri had left behind. Several more questions were thrown out before the meeting erupted with chaos, shouts and complaints were made loudly across the table.

Monica rose her gaze to look at the commotion that her men were causing, the room in which they argued in called for respect not total disorder. She sat in the chair that had once been held by her father, she would not have his memory insulted in such a manner.

She stood and instantly the room silenced, she walked around the large table as bikers sat down when she passed by. Her face still shielded from their view as she stopped and turned to look at the patch that hung on the wall.

"I do not care who they call in, you will show respect when you imbeciles are in here," she snarled, her back to them as they settled down with shamed expressions. "I will not have you barking orders at each other like dogs, you disgrace the patch you all have on your backs," she snapped before turning to face them.

Logan stared at her and felt a shiver run up his spine, her eyes held no life in them. Her jaw was set tightly as she continued to walk around the members at the table before her. The expression on her face was one that couldn't have been blanker.

Something had been broken, Logan knew that by now. She was beyond repair; her harsh words only confirmed it.

"Call the Spaniard, I want my father's charter here," she ordered coldly as several men pulled out their cellphone and stopped when they looked around and finally let one of them call.

"Are you sure you want to drag Spain into this?" Beelzebub asked wearily, he knew the reputation their father's men had. They were ruthless when it came to confrontations; they were the very heart of the Bastards.

"I already have Germany here, I want those pigs to suffer for what they have done," she barked slamming her fist upon the black wooden surface of the table causing several bikers to jump back in surprise and shock.

Beelzebub glanced around and nodded, he could see the bottom rockers of several men, sure enough the words 'Germany' stared back at him. She had called in the worst of the gang, there would be blood tonight.

She took a seat in the president's chair once more before taking her revolver from her waist and running a hand over the cool metal. She checked the number of bullets that she had, she smirked, a lone bullet met her gaze.

Several men watched as her finger brushed over the trigger of the gun, while others started to move out of the way in case she decided to let loose a stream of bullets. It had happened before with other leaders before her.

She laughed when she glanced up to see the panicked faces of her men. Greed stared at her in concern when he noted the emptiness in her one joy filled laughter; this wasn't the leader he knew. He shot his gaze over to Beelzebub who stared back and shook his head, his sister was gone.

The woman in her place wanted blood, blood for the family she had lost to the rival gang.

"You're all going to die," she laughed when her men stared back in confusion, "you don't even trust me anymore," she added pointing her gun at the man she had to her right and pulling the trigger. The biker shot out of his seat and fell backwards before realizing that he was still alive. That proved her point; she smiled to herself in dismay.

"That troubles me, how can you concentrate on anything other than the fact of not knowing when your own are going to turn on you?" she asked once more standing and walking over to the biker that remained frozen on the floor. "It was empty the whole time," she whispered to him before stepping over his body.

"Felix wouldn't have done that to get his point across," the president from Germany, Vlad, pointed out helping his second in command who remained on the floor in shock. Monica's head snapped over to him in rage, Beelzebub only stared at her with sadness in his eyes. The woman he knew was gone; she had been replaced by someone he didn't know. Jekyll had died permanently, Hyde was here to stay, of that he was sure.

"Do not speak my father's name," she hissed taking him by the collar of his leather jacket and slamming him up against the table. She held him in place by the back of his neck as he struggled beneath her iron grip. "You did nothing when the bastards gunned him down, you have no right," she spoke softly into his ear. He stared at her with slight fear; from his limited eye sight upon being face down on the table he could see he had pushed the wrong button with her.

"If my father was still alive…the city would be nothing but ashes by now," Monica yelled at them as several men nodded in understanding. Felix had been rather unpleasant when someone crossed him; he had once blown up an entire charter's bar to prove a point.

She let go of the man beneath her as he rose his body slowly and turned his head cautiously to see her standing behind him.

"The charter from Spain is on its way, no more than thirty minutes," Greed pointed out as Monica's eyes shot to his. She nodded before walking away from the biker that she had slammed down on the table. "They were already on their way when they heard of…" Greed trailed off afraid of saying Kirimi's name not wanting to find out what Monica's reaction would be.

She stared out of the window for the briefest of seconds, her eyes narrowing as if she were remembering something from long ago. She turned away and faced the bikers in the room once more.

"I am not immortal," she started as they all turned to face her, "and I am sure that none of you are either," she added with a sneer. "I will not have you walk into this against your will…I can guarantee that you will not come back alive," she told them as she saw the patch on the wall once more.

"I know several of you have families to take care of, children to protect," she continued, turning away from the grinning skull, "I will understand if you wish to remain here, do not make the same mistake as I did and leave them unprotected," she warned her men as several shifted in their seats.

A silence settled over them before Beelzebub stepped in.

"I know we don't belong here, we're Wolves, I understand that," he told her as Vlad turned to look at him with interest. "But I speak for all of us when I say that I want Jackal blood for what they did," he snarled stepping closer to the table of bikers who stared at the young leader with interest.

"They killed Felix, gunned him down knowing that he had his defenses down," he told the men in the room as several clenched their teeth while others growled at the memory of finding their leader dead with bullet wounds all over his chest. "They killed Mercedes, one of the most beautiful women I ever met…she had 30 wounds on her chest, all made by a knife," he added as Monica's eyes locked with his own.

He had never spoken of her mother; it wasn't until now that Monica realized that he had never hated her, he had a deep respect for Mercedes despite him not being one of her own children.

"They killed my brother Micah and his wife Luna, both of them were only twenty years old…" he added with venom in his voice while other men rolled their shoulders and started to crack their knuckles.

"Kirimi…my angel," he added choking slightly when the memory of her death resurfaced in his mind. He would never forget that night, "they shot her, they shot a child!" he yelled as the bikers around the table snarled and stood from their chairs in outrage upon being reminded of the monstrous crime that the Jackals had committed.

"I'll take as many as I can down to hell with me!" Beelzebub barked as all of the men agreed and started to check their guns before the door to the meeting room flew open.

"You called?" a deep voice rumbled as Monica turned her calculative gaze over to the doorway. Before she knew it she was already in the arms of the man that had arrived.

"Sin," she whispered shakily wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly as the biker buried his face in her black hair. It seemed like it had been ages since they had seen each other, in fact the last time that their paths had crossed it had been at her father's funeral.

The biker before her was one of the few men that she could trust with anything, no matter how bad things got she knew he would always be beside her.

"I am so sorry," Sin told her as he held her to him before she pulled away, her eyes failing to hide the deep pain and sorrow that her very soul felt.

"The cavalry has arrived," Beelzebub commented hugging Sin as well as both of them stood beside Monica when she turned towards her men once more, perhaps for the last time.

"This is how it's going to play out," she began as they all listened intently.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Monica drove up the Jackal's bar, her hands shaking with rage as she gripped the handles of her biker harder. Her knuckles turning white as she parked her bike and stepped off with ease, the bikers at the front door staring at her in amazement.

"Well, if it isn't Hyde," one of them laughed noticing that she was the only one there. The rest of the Bastards were nowhere in sight. "You should have brought your dogs to play, it seems you're the only one who's going to die tonight," he added before he pulled his hand back and swung at her face.

She welcomed the hit as her head snapped to the side, her broken nose oozing out blood as another punch landed on her stomach. She coughed and doubled over in pain before the pair of bikers took her by the arms and led her in to the bar leaving the entry unguarded.

Monica looked up with a smile on her lips before the door slammed shut, she dropped her expression and switched it over to one of immense pain as her body was dragged across the bar. Several men taking a swing at her as she winced and cried in pain, she would have her revenge soon enough.

"It's just like you said, Stryker," one of the men commented as they reached the back room, "she came by herself," he finalized hurling her into the room as she landed facedown and gave a pitiful whimper of pain.

"As expected, you let your anger get the better of you," Stryker murmured crouching down to remove her hair from her face to see the bruise that resided on her left cheek, he smiled at the blood that ran down her cut lip.

"Tell the rest of the men to relax, the Bastards won't be here until morning when they discover she's dead," Stryker ordered as one of the bikers left while the other stayed put near the door. "You can leave," he told the biker as the other man stared at his boss and then at the broken woman on the floor.

"Are you sure?" he asked as Stryker let loose a chuckle before standing.

"She's just a woman," he laughed, "what could she possibly do?"

The other biker nodded before closing the door behind him, Monica's eyes flew open upon hearing the click of the door. Her hand instantly wrapped around the knife in her pocket before she swung at Stryker's leg.

He cried out in pain before losing his balance and falling back. She picked herself up with difficulty before walking over to him as he held his leg in pain, his outraged expression meeting her disgusted one.

"That's all I ever was to you," she told him crouching next to him, "that's why my plan worked so well," she added as he stared at her in confusion. Monica twirled the knife in her hands before looking at him once more.

"As I speak my men are out there massacring your Jackals, just like you killed my men…without a warning," she added in rage kicking him as he grunted and held his stomach in pain. "You told them to relax, remember?" she commented as Stryker's eyes flew to her own.

"You bitch," he spat at her as she smiled back, "you knew I'd let my guard down when you showed up alone," he hissed reaching for her ankle as she stepped on his hand earning herself a cry from the biker beneath her.

"Now you'll know what it feels like to lose family and be betrayed," she told him as her words echoed in his mind. He realized he had written the same thing down just before he shot her child, the damn whore had tricked him and he was paying dearly for it now.

"This is for Voodoo," she told him applying pressure on his hand as his bones started to break. He howled in pain before she kicked him and he remained still. She wasn't enjoying what she was doing in the least but she knew she had to avenge her family for what he had done to them.

"This is for Joker," she whispered in anger as she crouched and placed the blade in his mouth. His eyes widened in fear as they stared at her own cold pair. He pleaded with her before she tugged harshly causing the blade to carve the left side of his face, the gash going upwards into a smile.

"For Luna," she growled breaking his other hand as he sobbed uncontrollably while blood gushed down his cheek, the pain from the broken bones intensifying his torture and pain as he regretted wronging the woman before him.

"For Micah," she choked as tears fell from her face as she plunged the knife into his knee causing his body to convulse beneath her. She didn't feel satisfaction upon seeing the man responsible for all of her misery suffer, the memory of what he had done however wouldn't leave her tormented mind.

"For Felix and Mercedes," she cried stabbing his chest as he screamed in agony. She twisted the blade and drove it further in before she left it there and stood before standing over him reaching for her revolver deciding to end it there, she couldn't bear to hear him scream one more time.

"This…this is for Kirimi," she told him calmly pulling back the hammer once more as she aimed and fired. He choked on his own blood as he felt the bulled pierce through his heart, the memory of the child he had killed swam through his mind.

He found it ironic, he had brought his own death upon him the moment he shot the small girl and left the note behind for her to read. He didn't regret any of it, however, once he saw the tormented look on Monica's face as she looked down at the blood on her hands.

His lips turned upwards into a smirk despite the burning sensation the cut was causing him before his head dropped back and he closed his eyes. Monica stared at him in shock, she had just killed Stryker.

She dropped her head into her hands and tried to shake off the guilt that settled over her before checking her revolver once more, there were no more bullets in it. She turned Stryker over and removed his jacket before standing once more. She hid the gun with her jacket as she walked out of the room with a grimace and pulled the door open.

Bullets whizzed by as she ducked behind the bar and pulled out her black handgun from the back of her belt. She fired blindly as she inched towards the door knowing her job was far from done, before she could reach it, however, Stryker's brother blocked her path. His blazing eyes eyeing the bloodied jacket in her hands.

"Raoul, move," she growled as a bullet narrowly missed her head. The biker in front of her refused as he pulled out his own knife and drove it into her stomach; she didn't stop him or try to dodge the swing merely because she knew she deserved it.

He yanked the knife out before a bullet hit his neck, Monica turned to look at Vlad who smirked upon hitting his target. She nodded back at him thankful for the help before she realized that every man in the bar was dead, except for one.

She stopped Beelzebub from killing him before she walked over the frightened prospect who sat in the far corner of the bar holding an unused gun close to his chest. She tilted her head at the man, she knew he had been on the verge of becoming a full Jackal, but he wasn't one just yet.

She thrust the jacket in her hands onto his chest as he looked down at it with wide eyes.

"You've been promoted," she told him hissing when she felt the wound on her stomach burn. Her hand covered the gash as she looked at the man in front of her. "If any of your men ever cross the line again, I will come back and finish what I started," she threatened before she stood with a grunt and walked towards the door.

She slipped through unnoticed due to all of her men cheering upon obtaining victory as she descended the stairs and stumbled over to her bike. The snow beneath her boots turning crimson as the blood from her stomach dripped down from her hand.

She bit her lip and turned the motorcycle on before heading over to the Opera Populair, she couldn't die yet. She had some things to finish before death took her, she couldn't afford to give up now.

She noticed the amount of people that exited the Opera Populair with pleased looks on their expressions talking of the superb musical they had just seen as Monica slipped through the crowd staining several women's animal pelts when she bumped into them.

She shook her head to get rid of her blurred vision as her breathing grew ragged. She managed to make her way to the stage where singers and ballet dancers were celebrating upon having a successful gala. A figure in white however called her attention as she moved forward and stopped in front of Lucy.

"Meet me on the roof, we have to talk," Monica growled over to the blond who was dressed as Christine in the white wedding dress. The diva stared at Monica amazed upon seeing her alive before she nodded, she too had a few things to settle with her 'friend'. Talking on the roof would ensure that the people around her knew nothing of what happened to Monica in case things went south.

Monica walked ahead ascending the stairs as her chest heaved trying to get more air into her lungs as she panted and continued forward, she shook her head trying to focus on the stairs.

"Come on, not yet," she whispered to herself pushing her body to its limits as she tossed open the door leading to the roof of the Opera House. She wished she would have picked another spot upon seeing the figure leaning up against one of the statues.

"Phantom?" she called with difficulty as the man in question turned to look at her. He had been preparing to scold her and lecture her over leaving like she had before his eyes landed on the blood covered hand that she held over her side.

Her clouded eyes locked with his horrified blue orbs as she walked over to him, "I'm sorry," she whispered reaching out to touch him before a voice caused her hand to freeze.

"Don't touch him, unless you'd both like to die tonight," Jack warned pointing his gun at the pair as Monica panted harder and leaned forward before regaining her balance. She turned to face the ex-biker as the snow grew to a dark shade of crimson beneath her.

The Phantom couldn't help but reach out for his muse, the mere sight of her like that caused his heart to ache deeply. A deep frown settled upon his face when he noted the blond who stepped forward from behind Jack. He restrained himself knowing that one wrong move could cost him losing her; he wouldn't be able to live with himself if she died because of him.

"Monica, you don't look too good," Lucy pointed out as Monica moved away from the Phantom; Jack's gun followed her just as she had planned as she looked briefly at the Opera Ghost hoping he would catch on.

"What do you want…Lucy," Monica murmured swaying in her spot as the blond turned to look at the Phantom.

"Him," she told the biker in front of her, Monica's brow furrowed in confusion.

The Phantom looked at the diva before him restraining a shudder at the mere thought of having her interested in him. The woman he cared about stood a few feet away from him, it took every fiber of his being to restrain his body from moving forward to where she was. She needed his help and he needed to comfort her, to hold her and tell her everything would be alright.

"I'll leave you to your life, all I want is for you to hand him over," Lucy told Monica with a cheer filled voice upon seeing the biker near death.

"He's not a trophy, Lucy," Monica breathed, "you can't demand me to give you the impossible," she added as Lucy's brow twitched with anger. Monica saw this and moved once more drawing Jack's attention back to her.

"I can't give you my reason for waking up every day, for breathing, for living," she added as Lucy's chest rose up and down quickly with anger upon witnessing the adoration in Monica's eyes as she spoke of _her _Opera Ghost.

Monica blinked trying to keep herself together before gasping slightly when her hand decreased the pressure on the wound. Jack caught a sight of the blood and frowned upon seeing the condition in which she was in, right now wasn't the time to be arguing, she should be in a hospital.

"Lucy-" Jack started before the other woman cut him off.

"No! He's mine! I will ask you one more time, leave and I will spare your life!" Lucy yelled her anger boiling over as Monica's lips tugged upwards into a smirk.

"Never," she whispered before Lucy lunged at her.

The Phantom taking advantage of the distraction as he too stepped forward and knocked the gun out of Jack's hold, both of them tumbling to the ground struggling for supremacy ignoring the women for a few moments.

Monica caught the blond as she rushed at her and slammed her face up against one of the windows of the roof before releasing the diva. Lucy hissed in pain before grabbing Monica and trying to do the same to her. Monica, however, twisted out of her grip and slammed her up against the window once more before raining down punches on the blond.

Lucy remained in place; she knew she would be beaten to death if she didn't do something. She settled on the only thing she knew how to do as she kneed Monica right were the cut from the knife was. The biker let go of her in pain before Lucy grabbed her with content upon knowing that her low blow had done its job.

She grabbed Monica by her jacket and rammed her up against one of the statues on the roof as the woman in her hold instantly cried out in pain. Lucy glanced down in between their bodies and noticed the large spike that protruded from Monica's stomach.

The blond glanced over the biker's shoulder with horror as she noticed she had just impaled her with one of the stone spikes that decorated the gargoyles before letting her go with a shocked expression on her face.

"Lucy…" Monica called to her weakly holding out a bloodied hand upon witnessing the frightened expression on her face. "It's not y-your fault, it w-was always mine," Monica choked as she pulled herself away from the gargoyle and tried to walk over to the woman in front of her.

"Jack?" Lucy cried unable to bear the sight of her only friend bleeding because of her.

What had she done?

Jealousy had gotten the best of her, she had killed anyone in her path, she realized her mistake now. She had murdered the person who had helped her all of the past years, the only one who had stood beside her when her family had left her on the streets.

Oh god…what had she done?

"Jack!" Lucy cried with horror as she covered her mouth with her hand, both men finally turning to look at her from their positions on the ground. The Phantom easing the pressure he had been applying on the boy's neck immediately upon seeing Monica reaching for them desperately.

"I'm so sorry," Lucy mumbled stepping back as the Opera Ghost rushed past her before Monica collapse in his arms. Jack stood beside Lucy unable to comprehend what had happened during the brief time he had been dueling with the infamous Phantom.

Monica stared back at the pair knowing that the Phantom would go for them, she pleaded with Jack silently as he stared back in fear. He understood and wrapped an arm around Lucy who by now was having a breakdown before leading her over the door that had been left open.

The sooner they left the more chances they had of surviving the wrath of the Opera Ghost.

After seeing them leave Monica turned her attention towards the man who held her in his arms. Her grieving eyes settled on his own tormented pair as his gloved hand tried to hold back the blood that oozed out of her.

"L-leave it be," she choked pushing his hand away as he turned his attention back to her. He couldn't believe this was happening, he was losing her.

"No…not like this," he begged holding her to him as she tried to smile at him, her body refused her command. She had been horrified of losing him ever since she had grown attached to him, now she realized that she would never have to go through the agony of him dying.

"I was stupid, my love," she told him before she closed her eyes coughed up blood. The Phantom felt his soul being shattered upon hearing the nerve-wracking coughs that came from the woman in his hold, the woman he loved.

"F-forgive me?" Monica asked weakly as he shook his head. The Phantom felt his hold on her tighten when she coughed once more holding on to his vest in pain.

"There is nothing to forgive, you will live through this," he told her as she opened her teary eyes and stared at him with sorrow. They both knew the truth; the crimson snow beneath them confirmed that. The Phantom glanced up at the statue that still held her blood on it before a hesitant hand on his cheek brought him back to her.

"Do not let hate consume y-you," she whispered as he shook his head at her. She couldn't give up, not yet.

This wasn't how it should have ended; his worst nightmare had come true. Fate had been unkind when it had allowed Christine to leave; now it was tearing out his heart by taking Monica away from him like this.

"Do not close your eyes, look at me," he pleaded as she struggled to remain there with him. He stared down at his sole reason for composing, for living again, and watched her life slip away from his hands.

"I-I love you, Erik," she told him as tears streamed down her cheeks. His whole body tensed upon hearing those words. He had hoped to hear them under different circumstances; he had hoped to say the same without the fear of ever having to part with her.

He was left speechless as her bloodied hand caressed the side of his mask before she pulled it back and dropped it on the ground next to her, the porcelain prop becoming stained with her blood as she used the last of her strength to pull herself up and meet his lips.

The Phantom remained frozen as he felt her soft lips against his, he couldn't stop himself from growling in both pleasure from finally having captured them with his own and in rage upon realizing that it would be the last time he would ever be able to do it.

The coppery taste of her blood filled his senses as he pulled her closer, she held on to his vest for dear life with one hand while the other remained on the side of his deformed face as she leaned in and worked her lips against his own feeling the pain from her wounds start to fade away. The pure lust and power from the Phantom's needing form clouded over the agony that her body was in.

The Phantom pulled away first when he felt her body tense, she looked at him one last time with nothing but pure love before her eyes closed and her hand dropped from his face. He stopped breathing for what seemed ages as he stared at her unmoving form before him.

His expression contorted into one of sorrow as he pulled her body closer and uttered a low cry. He buried his face in her neck as he sobbed quietly feeling everything within him wither and die. He could feel his heart ache and cry out for her, he knew his calls would never be answered.

He held her cold body to his, the warmth that she had always brought to him had been replaced with nothing but a deep and unnerving cold that proved she would never wake.

Her memory haunted his mind as he remembered her smile every time he offered to let her sit next to him on the organ late at night. He frowned realizing he had never let her stay with him enough, he could have done more. The sight of her dancing on the stage only for him surfaced in his mind, he had never praised her enough, told her how beautiful and graceful she looked when she moved.

Her hesitant touch seemed to ghost over his face reminding him of all of the times he had pulled away from her, he should have pulled her back to him and claimed her as his. He never should have allowed her to leave his side; she had always belonged with him.

The cheerful laughter she had let escape from her lips every time he amused her echoed through his head, he had never heard anything more angelic than her voice. He had never told her that either.

It had never been enough.

The Phantom realized that the times he had let his temper loose on her would probably haunt him until his dying day. His mind was suddenly filled with her cowering form as he thundered at her for the simplest of things.

He would never forgive himself for raising his voice at her when he should have been soothing her instead.

"Why," he choked brushing her hair back as his hand brushed over her freezing cheek. It wasn't fair that everyone got to stay with the one they loved while he had her torn away from him.

He glanced at her lip arm that remained still right where it had dropped before his eyes landed regretfully on her ring finger.

He had even planned to marry the woman in his arms, to keep her by his side through the good times and bad. He shook those thoughts away; his heart couldn't possibly bear to think of her in that manner. He couldn't marry an unmoving body, a still heart.

A hesitant hand on his shoulder brought his crashing back down to earth as he snapped his head to the side to look at the owner of the offending hand.

"You…" he growled warningly pulling Monica's body to his chest and holding her protectively as he stared at the old gypsy before him. He knew he would see her again but he hadn't been expecting her to appear now.

"I am sorry for your loss, Erik," the old woman told him before she paused, "it had to be done," she added as he turned his head to her warningly once more.

"You knew this would happen?" he asked his voice breaking as the gypsy nodded. "The fact that I have lived for so long because of you, I could forgive," he told her as he caressed Monica's cheek. "Taking her from me, however…is unforgivable," he growled at the woman who had moved in front of him and was already looking at the dead body in his arms.

It was true that it was her doing that made him live longer than any human possibly could, ever since the day he had murdered her husband at the carnival she had sworn that she would find him again and curse him. A gypsy's power was often underestimated but when they were wronged they always had the last laugh.

The day had finally come when he had been running from the law after the Opera House burnt down. She had seen him out in the streets at night; could she ever forget his face? She had cursed the man before her, cursed him to live a life of solitude.

The rage behind her act had made her cry for revenge successful, he had remained the same for more than one hundred years, but he had never once been approached by a woman.

Until now.

"Now you know what it feels like to lose someone you love dearly, my child," the old woman told him as the Phantom shook with rage.

"She had nothing to do with this," he told her refusing to let her see Monica as the woman continued to circle him like a vulture. She could see that the dead body in his arms had meant something to him; she felt pity for him but not enough to relieve him of his torture.

"You brought this upon yourself," she told him as the Phantom dropped his head and realized that what the woman had said was true. Everything that had happened was his doing; he shouldn't have allowed her to stay with him at all. How could he not see that before? He could have saved her if only he would have been able to push her away.

"Leave me," he told her as the old gypsy stared at the man before her, something had changed about him. Had she appeared any other time he wouldn't have hesitated to kill her, something had changed him. The Phantom eased his hold on Monica as the old woman finally got a good view of her face.

"My, she was certainly a pretty one," the gypsy whispered regretting having to stand by and let the woman die out of pure revenge. She would have fit in perfectly with the carnival that she owned and traveled with around the world.

With that thought she turned and left the Opera Ghost to do his grieving, his broken figure hunched over the body of the woman he had once loved.

"What was her name, Erik?" the gypsy asked an idea coming to mind as the Phantom paused and thought. Why would she want to know her name? He saw no harm in telling her, after all, what could she possibly conjure up to hurt him now that his muse was dead.

"Monica…her name was Monica," he replied as the gypsy nodded before leaving him.

The Phantom stared down at her body, grimacing when he noticed all of the blood she had lost in that brief period of time. In that brief moment he wished he had never met her, if he had known he would have shunned her to save her life.

He wished she had never been down to his lair, that she had never seen his true face.

He cursed the pair that had managed to escape from his grasp, he would have their heads on a silver platter even it if killed him. Their scheming had resulted in her death, which would not go unpunished.

He pushed the thoughts for revenge aside and glanced down at her once more before running his hand over her cold lips.

He wished she had never heard his music; he should have kept her away, hidden from the world. His heart shattered upon realizing that his music had ultimately led her to stay with him, he had killed her with his greatest talent.

He wished the world was deaf.

He wished no one would listen.

**Review! A friend mentioned I should make another chapter after this one and it makes sense now that I realize that the Phantom dosent really get his revenge. She also mentioned the possibility for a sequel which I am also doubtful on, let me know what you guys think so far!**


	37. Nevermore

**Nevermore**

**A/N: Ah, last chapter, its been a long ride my dear readers but we have reached the end of the road, enjoy!**

"Lucifer, back from the dead?" Sin joked as he turned to look at the biker leaning on the doorway of their bar. The other man sneered at the president from Spain before limping over to the bar, bikers diving out of his way as he passed by.

He had managed to get out of the hospital by threatening several nurses if they didn't allow him to leave. Despite the protests of his body he was glad to be back where he belonged.

"I hear you finally took down the Jackals," Lucifer's hoarse voice commented as he turned to look at Beelzebub who had taken a seat next to him followed by Sin on his other side. The three men looked at each other briefly wondering how they were still alive before the music came to an abrupt stop and a glass being dropped drew their attention to the entrance.

Judas stood with a body in his arms, head hung low while his shoulders shook uncontrollably with rage. Lucifer's piercing gaze shot over to him when he readjusted his hold, the woman's arm falling limply to her side as her hair fell out of her face allowing them to see who it was.

The world seemed to stop as every head snapped over to Lucifer as he rose slowly from the stool near the bar, his jaw clenched to the point where they could hear his teeth grinding against one another.

Beelzebub's jaw dropped open following a string of curses in Spanish by Sin who slammed his fist down upon the wooden surface of the bar.

Lucifer couldn't believe his eyes as he neared the body in Judas' hold, he was hoping that she would open her eyes and spring up out of the bikers hold and tell him it was all a joke. It had to be, this wasn't happening, she was still alive…she had to be.

"Boss-" Judas started as the other biker silenced him with a piercing look.

Judas merely handed her off to Lucifer who took her into his arms with extreme care, her cold skin brushing up against his hand as he resisted the urge to frown. Her bloodied shirt soon stained his own as he turned and walked back into the meeting room, the rest of the Bastards following behind him.

He set Monica down onto the black surface of the table and fixed her bloodied hair before stepping back with a blank face, his eyes however betrayed him. He wasn't alright; he wanted to kill every living thing in the world for taking her from him.

The faces of the bikers around him lost their joyful expression from moments ago; they were replaced by looks of sorrow and rage.

They had just lost another leader.

"Get out," Lucifer ordered looking at the men around him as several members jumped at his tone and rushed out. The ones who remained, however, refused to budge when he turned his smoldering gaze onto them.

"I said get out, you dogs," he growled as several more bikers exited the room afraid of pushing the devil's patience.

Sin merely shook his head in denial and walked out of the room dragging Beelzebub along by the back of his leather jacket, the president of the Wolves had a shocked expression on his face even as he was dragged out of the room, he had just lost his only family member.

The door slammed shut behind them as Judas stared critically at the devil that remained still looking at Monica, his expression unreadable.

"Where was I?" Lucifer's voice whispered as he reached out to caress her cheek, his hand however froze unable to carry out the task.

"Lucifer, this wasn't your fault-"

"Where was I?" he barked cutting Judas off as the other biker stepped back sensing the other was slowly losing control.

"It wasn't the Jackals," Judas mumbled as Lucifer's bloodshot eyes turned on him, instantly the other man found himself backing away as the new leader of the Bastards advanced on him.

"What?" Lucifer snarled grabbing Judas before slamming him up against the wall, the younger biker uttered a groan of pain as he felt the back of his head connect with the wall.

"It was Jack and Lucy, they killed Kiri as well," Judas uttered as Lucifer refused to ease his grip, the other biker could see the turmoil that his boss was going through, he was struggling to hold back his emotions. He didn't tell him where he had found Monica; he wouldn't put it past Lucifer to burn down the Opera House out of pure anger.

Fleur had been the one to hand her body over to Judas; he kept that detail to himself as well. Lucifer couldn't know any of it; no doubt he would turn on Fleur and skin the poor man alive. Judas had kept everything relating to the Opera Populair a secret; the fact that he had been keeping tabs on Monica for the Phantom would never leave his lips.

"I want their heads," Lucifer whispered his eyes blazing; he could feel the grip he had on Judas lessen as the other biker remained in place.

"We all do," Judas told him closing his eyes as they landed on Monica's dead body. It was like de-ja-vu all over again, losing her father and mother had been bad enough, now she was gone as well.

Lucifer moved away from him slowly, Judas let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in as the other man walked over to Monica once more.

Judas watched silently as Lucifer caressed her black hair with a sorrowful smile, he pulled back suddenly as his lips dropped and his hands clenched tightly. He backed away from her body and slammed the door to the meeting room open. Judas followed after him as the bikers that had been waiting outside turned to look at him for orders.

"I want Jack and Lucy dead, I don't care if you're out there the whole night, make them suffer," he told his men as they all nodded and stood from the stools and chairs that they had been sitting on. Lucifer paused as he heard bikes being revved up, the bar suddenly empty as he frowned realizing he would never have Monica there to keep him company.

He walked over to the bar once more and took a seat before the bartender turned to look at him.

"What's it gonna be, hon?" she asked him as his grey eyes turned to look at the woman. She tried her best to smile, she knew he was hurting; the least she could do was try and make him feel better.

"The strongest thing you have," Lucifer replied with a frown as the bartender nodded and turned away from him. Her eyes searched for the particular bottle she was looking for before she remembered the reason she was there in the first place.

"You know, she was the one who gave me this job," the woman confessed turning to look at Lucifer as he stared at her once more with slight curiosity. "No one would accept me, until I crossed paths with her," the brunette added smiling sadly remembering the day she had met Monica.

"She had a thing for going against what was expected," Lucifer replied as the woman set a glass in front of him and poured in the golden liquid, he was about to reach for it when he noticed she put another glass beside it and filled it up as well.

He tilted his head when he observed her take it and look at him, a sad smile placed on her lips as he reached for his own glass.

"To one of the greatest women I ever knew," she murmured as her lips dipped down slightly.

Lucifer noticed this and bowed his head at her before downing the shot at once. She managed a weak laugh upon seeing him scrunch up his nose feeling the back of his throat on fire. She shook her head at the biker before her as she too drank her shot; her reaction to it however was more controlled than his.

"I hope they find them," she told him as Lucifer looked at her once more, a sadistic smile gracing his lips as he thought of the pair that would be dead soon.

"They will," he replied as she refilled the glass for him, he looked at the golden liquid and then at the bartender before directing his gaze out of the window, "the night is still young."

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Lucy, my darling, where are you?" Judas called out as he entered the blond woman's house. He knew she would be here, she wasn't thinking straight. The last thing on her mind after the events that had happened would be to run.

They had already found Jack and currently had him tied up outside on one of their bikes.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Sin teased behind Judas as the pair made their way through the large mansion. Every room that they entered was empty, the lights turned off, lifeless.

When they reached her room, however, they found the door locked. Sin's expression brightened up as he stepped back and kicked the door down with one single hit. The hinges gave away and let the door collapse inwardly as the men made their way inside.

They found Lucy cowering in the corner, her arms wrapped around her legs as she sat in the darkness. Her blue eyes stared up at the bikers in her doorway with horror as they made their way towards her shaking form.

"No, I'm sorry!" she cried as Sin cracked his neck in amusement before reaching down and heaving her up.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, _perra," _he told her, his Spanish accent making her shiver with terror as he began to drag her out of the room. She struggled against him and gripped the doorway when he walked through the threshold.

Her nails dug into the wood in desperation before Sin tugged at her neck mercilessly, her hands being torn off of the doorway. She shrieked when she noticed several of her nails had been lifted up from her fingers, her eyes pooled with tears as she stared at her bleeding hands.

Judas followed after the pair, a smile placed on his lips, he observed Sin pause at the top of the stairs before detaching the woman in his hold from his frame and kicking her down ruthlessly. Lucy cried out as she felt her body drop, the pair at the top of the stairs staring at her blankly while her body crashed down.

"_Mierda, _she slipped from my grasp," Sin apologized sarcastically turning to look at Judas who was laughing beside him as the two men descended the stairs with humor apparent in their eyes. Lucy's body remained at the bottom, unmoving, as she continued to sob uncontrollably.

"Shut up," Judas warned her as he picked her up by the collar of her shirt and started to drag her outside. Her broken nose oozed out blood as the biker pulled her across the fresh coat of snow that had fallen on her driveway.

Jack stared at Lucy's beaten form with fear as he watched the pair of bikers near them once more. They gagged her and bound her arms behind her back just like they had done to him before throwing her on the back of one of the prospect's bike.

The ex-biker shook his head in dismay, they were dead. He closed his eyes as he heard them turn on the motorcycles once more, he didn't open them when the familiar rumbling ceased.

Jack picked his head up knowing the drive had been too short; there was no way they were back at the bar. His eyes landed on the immense building in front of him before his blood ran cold. He noticed only Judas was present along with the two prospects that held Lucy and his body on the back of their bikes. He then noticed they had parked at the back of the large building.

It was the Opera Populair.

Lucy screamed as well through her gag as she struggled against her bindings, she didn't even want to go near the Opera house, she knew the Phantom was waiting inside.

Lucy turned to look at Jack with regret and horror written on her expression, she continued to squirm wishing to be as far away from the building before her.

"Which would you prefer?" Judas asked to no one in particular as Jack's eyes looked everywhere looking for the person that Judas was talking to. Without a warning a black figure stepped out of the shadows, his eyes burning holes into the pair that were tied to the bikes.

Jack uttered a groan when he recognized the figure and began to struggle even more; he was soon stopped by a punch from Judas.

"The boy," the Phantom ordered as Judas nodded and moved over to Jack, the ex-biker shook his head desperately as he screamed in protest. His complaints being muffled out by the gag as Judas gripped his shoulders roughly and forced him to stand.

"Well, Jackie boy, this is where we part," Judas whispered into his ear as he led him over to the Opera Ghost. He hurled Jack forward as the ex-biker stumbled right into the Phantom's waiting hands.

He instantly cringed upon feeling the Phantom constrict his shoulders to the point of crushing them. Jack turned his gaze onto Judas who stood before him, pleading the biker to take him back.

"Make him suffer," Judas told the Phantom as the Opera Ghost nodded and released the gag that had been tied around Jack's head.

"You traitor, you never told Lucifer that you would be handing me off like this," Jack yelled after the retreating form of the biker.

"Now you know why they call me Judas," the other replied with a wicked smile. Lucifer wouldn't be a problem; in fact Judas knew his new leader wouldn't even notice Jack's absence. Not when he had Lucy to torture and kill. In a way, Judas wasn't even betraying Lucifer, he knew Jack would have a painful death at the hands of the Opera Ghost, that was the only reason he had given Jack over.

"You two never saw anything, if a single word leaves your mouths about this I will carve out your still beating hearts and feed them to my dogs," Judas warned the pair of prospects that stared at him with slight fear. Both men nodded hurriedly fearing to upset the biker before them before they drove off trying to ignore the screams of pain that came from Jack before they ceased all together.

Lucy panicked as soon as they neared the bar that she was all too familiar with, she could feel her heart beat faster; she should have killed herself when she had the chance.

"Kick her off," Judas shouted back at the prospect before the other man nodded and shoved Lucy off of the bike. She felt her skin being peeled back as she hit the hard pavement; she couldn't help but cry out due to the pain that she was in.

She remained facedown, her body refusing to move, when she heard the gravel beneath her crunch as footsteps approached her.

She managed to pick her head up and screamed through the gag when she saw Lucifer looming over her with his knife in hand.

"Lucy…it's been too long," his low voice chuckled as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her over to the bar. Her body kicked and struggled as much as she could as he threw her up the stairs and kicked her inside of the bar.

The bartender from before shuddered at the sight of the woman being dragged into the backroom by the biker, Lucy's tear streaked face pleaded with her own wishing to be free of Lucifer before the door slammed shut behind her.

The bikers and waitresses within the bar shuddered endlessly every time Lucy's screams echoed through the bar. A small trickle of blood was starting to creep out from beneath the door as time passed, they could hear a body hitting the walls over and over again, no doubt Lucifer was hurling her from one surface to the other.

"When is he going to stop?" Beelzebub asked grimly as the door shook from the force of the Lucy's body being thrown against it, more blood oozed out of the bottom of the door. It had been hours since anyone had dared to go near the room.

They could faintly hear Lucy's whimpers before a sickening crack reached their ears.

"He's far from done, he barely started to break her bones, the _perra _deserves that and more," Sin replied looking at the young biker in front of him. Beelzebub shifted uncomfortably when Sin answered his question, he didn't think anyone capable of torturing another human being like that.

Several more cracks followed before Lucy began to scream again, the sound shaking the very walls around the room as the waitresses rushed to get the drinks to the disturbed bikers that sat completely still.

The bartender glanced at the door worriedly; she would hate to get on Lucifer's bad side. She jumped followed by everyone else when the door started to splinter due to the collision Lucy had just made with it.

Vlad glanced at the room briefly before placing a reassuring hand on Greed's shoulder, the younger man shivered when a disturbing sound reached their ears.

"He's cutting off her skin, it should be over soon…she'll bleed out," Sin informed the men before him, several glanced somewhere else not really wishing to know the information while others closed their eyes trying to block out the sounds that came from within the room.

A mocking laugh reached their ears before Lucy's screams returned full force, the smell of burning flesh reaching their noses as several men stepped out and vomited over the railing of the bar in disgust.

"Oh god, what is he doing to her?" Beelzebub choked standing as well and rushing outside after gagging, he had never witnessed something like that.

Sin closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair before drinking his shot of tequila with a pleased expression on his face, Lucifer didn't disappoint, he had expected the biker to go softer on the woman.

The sound of Lucy's body being thrown once more reached their ears before they were surrounded with a calm silence. Every eye shot towards the backdoor as Lucifer stepped through, his face blood splattered as he walked through the bar.

No one dared to make eye contact with him, his jacket dripped with fresh blood, the heart that he held in the palm of his hand however made several waitresses faint and drop the drinks they were carrying.

Lucifer stopped in front of the fireplace, his expression far from peaceful as he let the ruby organ fall from his hand into the flames below. Sin stared at his back waiting for him to move, to say something, to give an indication that he was still breathing. Lucifer finally came to his senses as he walked over to the table where his most trusted bikers sat at.

Sin stood as the new president of the Bastards approached him, the rest of the bikers glancing at the pair unsure of what was going to happen as Lucifer halted in front of the Spaniard.

A brief moment passed before Sin threw his arms around the man in front of him and pulled him into a tight embrace. Lucifer did the same as his head fell on Sin's shoulder staining the other man with blood, he didn't pay any attention to it.

"You would have made Felix proud," Sin whispered into the other man's ear sensing Lucifer's inner demons. The other man let out a shaky breath upon hearing what Sin had just told him, he feared that he had failed Felix and in doing so failed the club.

"Come, let's get all of this off of you," the Spaniard added grimly leading Lucifer out of the bar, "get rid of the body and clean off the blood," he called back to the other bikers who merely nodded as the pair left.

The bartender shuddered as two bikers dragged out a burned mass of flesh and bones that she assumed as Lucy through the bar before driving off no doubt to dispose of the body.

"We're going to have to bury her tomorrow," Greed commented looking at the meeting room where he knew Monica's body was. Several other men nodded in agreement before the bartender walked over and offered them all another round of their preferred shot.

Before any of them knew it they had all fallen asleep against the tables and chairs. There wasn't a single biker awake; they had even forgotten to lock the door.

A light breeze settled over them as the door opened quietly and shut silently. A lone figure made its way through the bar, her feather light footsteps went by undetected as she opened the door to the meeting room and walked over Monica's body.

She ran a hand over the dead biker's face brushing away a strand of blood matted hair before she stepped back and analyzed her intently. A hand touched the side of her neck as the woman closed her eyes and saw what the young biker had gone through in her short life.

The old gypsy saw the death of the biker's parents, the death of her child, the difficulties that she had faced with the men asleep outside. The old woman stepped back and removed her hand from the dead body before her with an audible gasp, she couldn't fathom how the woman had managed to go through all of that and maintain her sanity.

"You poor child," the gypsy whispered before she made up her mind.

Her arms picked Monica's body up from the table and carried her carefully; the gypsy frowned when she felt blood dampen her clothes. She walked through the bar once more and left without a soul realizing that she had just taken Monica's body.

"You deserved a better life," the gypsy whispered at the body in her hold before disappearing into the shadows. Come morning they would realize that they were missing the young woman in her arms, until then she would take her time in going back.

After all, the carnival left the next day, by then it would be too late.

The moon shined down on the old gypsy and the bloodied woman in her hold as she made her way through the empty streets of Paris.

She was past the point of no return.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The Phantom stared down at the dead body beneath him; his hands ached from having beaten the boy to death. He peeled off the bloodied gloves with disgust and tossed them aside, having killed him had done little to appease him.

He crouched near the river that ran through the lair and washed the crimson splatters from his face; his hands shook uncontrollably as he realized how quiet it was now that his muse was gone.

He rubbed the bride of his nose in irritation as he rose and walked back stepping over Jack's mutilated body. The ex-bikers screams still echoed through his mind, he had killed many people over the years but he had never thought of them after they had been dealt with.

The pleas that had come from the boy refused to let him be, he was sure that they would haunt him in his dreams. He glanced sideways at the body before walking over and disposing of it, the sooner he got it out of his sight the better.

Time seemed to have stopped for the Opera Ghost as he walked back to the lair; the cold stone walls around him did little to calm his thoughts. The picture of his muse dying in his arms wouldn't leave him; he paused and leaned up against the wall in despair holding his head trying to forget. He wanted to erase her memory from his mind, to forget she even existed.

'_I love you for who you truly are, nothing more and nothing less…' _her voice echoed around him as he shook his head, he couldn't possibly live without her. Her presence lingered everywhere he went, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about her.

He reached the lair and stumbled over to the table where several sheets of music were messily placed along with his bloodied mask. His hand swept across the surface unable to bear the sight of her blood as the mask crashed down and skidded beneath the organ.

'_I don't want to hide anything from you anymore…and I don't want you to either…' _he held his head once more as her soft voice surfaced in his thoughts. He tried to tell himself that he wasn't hiding anything when he let the mask remain beneath his organ.

His legs led him towards his room, his hand wrapped around the ruby door knob before he remembered she had touched it hours before her death. He frowned and let go as if it were on fire as soon as the door was open.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness around him as he slipped his boots off and shrugged off the bloodied jacket he had around him. His shirt soon followed as he threw it across the room never wanting to lay his eyes on it as he let his body fall down on his bed.

He turned away from the other side of his bed once he felt her feather like touch; he knew it as his mind playing tricks on him. He wondered how he would get through the rest of the day or rather the rest of his life without her there to comfort and welcome him with a smile no matter how bad her day had been.

"_Why did you listen?" _he sang mournfully changing the lyrics to 'No One Would Listen,' he would have preferred to live a lifetime of solitude if it meant saving her life. He should have distanced himself from her when he had the chance. His mind instantly reminded him that he couldn't have even if he had wanted to.

A strange feeling settled over him as he glanced down at his bare chest and frowned upon realizing what it had been.

'_I know it's not much_,' she had told him, her cheeks flush with embarrassment. The Phantom gripped the golden cross in one hand and closed his eyes unable to shake her memory. _'It belonged to my father, it's just a piece of gold I know, but it means the world to me," _he frowned realizing that it was the only thing that he had.

He would never part with the piece of jewelry, he had promised to take care of it, no matter how much it hurt to have it so close to his heart.

He closed his eyes once more in regret; he knew her arrival had been too good to be true. She hadn't left him like Christine had but she had certainly managed to wound him more than the soprano had. The Opera Ghost couldn't help but miss the woman, her absence was more agonizing than Christine's had been.

His mind jumped at the chance to remind him of all the times he had compared her to Christine, it seemed to emphasize on his muse's expressions during those times. The hurt look that crossed her eyes, the downward dip in her lips, the sigh that followed realizing that she would never be able to step out of the soprano's shadow.

"_I'm here because I care! I'm not here to become a prima donna or the ballerina of the century, and I would never ask such a thing from you! I'm not here to steal your music or your operas…and I'm certainly not here to give you false hopes! I could have left if I wanted to! We're not all the same! And for the last time…I'm not Christine!" _ The Phantom flinched at the memory of Monica yelling at him that night; he had never viewed her as anything but another soprano out to take everything from him.

He had realized that she had never wanted anything from him; she had never asked for something from him, she had even denied his gifts. Her sharp voice had reprimanded him on the subject several times before it had finally sunk in.

He couldn't believe how blind he'd been, she had been standing before him the whole time wishing for his acceptance and he had still been sulking on Christine. He had opened up to her but it had been too late, death was already taking her away from him.

"_I want you, not the Phantom,"_ her soothing voice rang in his ears. That statement alone would torment him for years to come; he had always shown her his darker side. There wasn't a time when he could recall himself soothing her, asking for her forgiveness after one of his outbursts. He had always been the Phantom to her, she deserved better than having him scold her for something that even he considered meaningless.

Even then she had accepted him; her face had brightened up every time he spoke to her after one of their arguments. The hopeful look returned to her eyes when he acknowledged her existence after hours of refusing to direct his attention to her. She even blamed herself for upsetting him when the blame had been entirely his.

How he missed the woman already, always forgiving, always accepting, always there.

The Phantom cursed himself for treating her so horribly. He should have treated her like he had once done with Christine, praised her for being by his side after everything they had been through.

He recalled her eyes filling with sadness when he had refused to say anything after she had run his routine through until exhaustion. He had noted the way her shoulders dropped when he had turned away from her and headed down to the lair. She had walked dejectedly to the swan room that same night without him giving her so much as a second glance before falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

He had walked in after he had made sure she was sound asleep, the dark bruises on her arms and legs proved how much she had worked to get every step right. She had given him everything and he had never once appreciated her for it.

The praise that she had longed to hear from him never escaped his lips; he had sat next to her that night and watched as she slept. Her chest rose up and down calmly despite the trials that he had put her through, he would never understand how her body didn't break or give up on her.

He had started to lose sleep after that night, the pained expressions that she made after ever jump started to make him wince and cringe, the fact that she never complained made his blood seethe. He was pushing her too hard and she refused to tell him, to finally complain about something.

It was only then that he started to have respect for her and guilt started to creep in. He realized how ungrateful he was to her; the Opera Populair wouldn't even be running if she had never shown up.

The Phantom groaned realizing how much of a bastard he had been to her and rolled over once more. His hand brushed over the empty space next to him on the bed, she would never return to him. Her loud footsteps in the catacombs would never calm his nerves; her pouting face would never meet his amused expression when he denied her request to sit next to him on the organ before he gave in.

'_I love you, Erik,'_ her hushed voice teased his ear, he turned hopeful to find her there, he knew better. He dropped his head back onto the pillow and sighed, life had no meaning now. The fire that had been ignited within him once more with her presence had been extinguished the moment she stopped breathing.

His mind had suddenly run blank when it came to composing; the angel of music had died with his muse.

The image of Fleur carrying her lifeless body away from him would not leave him. Her blood didn't seem to wash away with the clear water of the river.

He closed his eyes once more and refused to open them. Sooner or later sleep would take over him, even then he doubted he would find peace.

In the end nothing he could have done would have been able to save her, her fate had been decided the moment their paths first crossed. The Phantom found himself erasing every memory he had of her, he would make sure he never allowed anyone else to get close to him; a painful tune escaped his lips as he tried to forget his dead muse.

"_No one would listen, no one but you..."_

**Thoughts, questions, concerns? Let me know, I cant exactly say review anymore so...comment! :D Adieu, my dears!**_  
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	38. Author's Note!

**Author's Note:**

**Well, after reading all of the responses for this story I was amazed that so many of you wanted a sequel! I felt bad for leaving our poor Erik in that miserable state, after all, he had enough of that with Chrsitine! -_- So I decided to do a sequel, the first chapter is already up my dears, it's called 'My Glass Ballerina.' Feel free to read and review ;D I love all of you guys and your reviews that got me to update even when I was dying in bed XD Sidenotes to some of you guys!**

**deanna37: I had no idea you guys liked the moments that much :D Im glad you like this story and I hope the sequel dosent dissapoint!**

**PhantomAlways: Glad to have you as a reader and a reviewer and I felt bad for making all of you guys cry with these previous chapters XD **

**smoshbuscusgirl45: Dont worry, its not over :D like I said before, the first chapter for the sequel is already up!**

**13sapphire13: I think everyone was waiting for those two to die, I wont lie, I enjoyed writing their deaths XD**

**TheKyra25155 : You'll see what she did with her body XD and I am joyed that you read the story and like it. Everything shall be answered in the sequel do not worry, Im not going to leave our poor phantom alone for long ;D**

**JennyMadison13: Yes, they are based off of the same idea, I like to work with the same OC's you'll see that in several of my stories, and Im glad you liked the story my dear :)**

**PhantomFan01: Read the sequel and you'll find out ;)**

**trrmo77: Everyone seemed to be interested with the gypsy taking her body, the first chapter in the sequel explains it though :D Hope to hear from you soon!**

**xXChaoticOrderXx: Ah, well as you can see I decided to write a sequel! I hope it dosent dissapoint, everythign will be explained in there :D Thank you for the amazing review!**


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